BT 

43O 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CAtlFORNIA 


THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING 


THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING 

MEDITATIONS 

UPON  THE 

PASSION  AND  RESURRECTION 

OP 

OUR  BLESSED  LORD 

Arranged  for  use  during  Lent  and  Holy  Week  and  for 
the  Fridays  throughout  the  Year 


BY  THE  REVEREND 
ARCHIBALD  CAMPBELL  KNOWLES 

Author  of  "The  Triumph  of  the  Cross,"  "Come  Unto  Me," 

"The  Belief  and  Worship  of  the  Anglican  Church," 

"The  Holy  Christ  Child,"  etc.,  etc. 


t 


MILWAUKEE 
The  Young  Churchman  Co. 

1906 


LOAN  STACK 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

THE  YOUNG  CHURCHMAN  Co., 
1906. 


tit 


TO 

THE  HONOUR  AND  GLORY 

OF 

THE  BLESSED  PASSION  AND  PRECIOUS  DEATH, 
THE  MIGHTY  RESURRECTION  AND  GLORIOUS  ASCENSION 

OF 

OUR  LORD  AND  SAVIOUR 
JESUS  CHRIST. 


"The  Preaching  of  The  Cross 

is  to  them  that  perish  foolishness:  but  unto  those  which  are  saved 
it  is  The  Power  of  God." 


825 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I. — THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING 1 

II. — THE  OFFERING  OF  OURSELVES  TO  GOD  -    -    -  -  5 

III. — THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  SINS  TO  GOD   -    -    -  -  18 

IV. — THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  DEAR  ONES  TO  GOD  -  -  27 

V. — THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  TRIALS  TO  GOD    -    -  -  38 

VI. — THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  BODILY  ILLS  TO  GOD  -  43 

VII. — THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  WORK  TO  GOD      -    -  -  50 

VIII. — THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  SOULS  TO  GOD      -    -  -  57 

IX. — THE  LIGHT  IN  THE  FACE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  -  -  67 


PKEFACE. 

The  meditations  in  this  little  volume  were  deliv- 
ered in  large  part  "extempore"  in  the  course  of  a 
series  of  Good  Friday  addresses  upon  the  Seven  Words 
from  the  Cross.  They  are  now  presented  in  a  slightly 
adapted  form,  being  arranged  so  as  not  only  to  fulfil 
their  original  purpose,  but  also  to  be  suitable  for  read- 
ing on  the  Fridays  throughout  the  year.  The  latter 
object  may  specially  commend  itself  to  those  who 
realize  how  often  the  lessons  of  the  Cross  are  forgotten, 
when  Good  Friday  has  passed.  The  Roman  Numerals 
designate  the  respective  Fridays. 

In  preparing  such  a  work,  shortness  and  simplicity 
are  most  desirable,  but  the  thoughts  and  lessons  which 
suggest  themselves  are  so  many,  that  it  is  exceedingly 
difficult  on  the  one  hand  to  say  all  that  one  would 
like  to  say  and  on  the  other  hand  so  to  make  selec- 
tion as  to  embody  both  the  old  and  the  new.  In 
the  little  book  here  presented,  the  author  and  preacher 
has  omitted  many  things  that  might  be  found  helpful, 
in  order  to  confine  himself  largely  to  the  one  simple 
theme  of  the  Life  of  Offering,  the  complete  consecra- 
tion of  ourselves  to  fulfil  the  Will  of  God.  If  there  be 
found  little  that  may  be  new  or  strange,  the  familiar 
flowers  may  possibly  be  arranged  in  a  different  way, 
and  so  contribute  in  some  measure  at  least  to  the 
strengthening  of  the  spiritual  life,  the  Glory  of  God, 
and  the  Honour  of  Our  Divine  Eedeemer. 


A  PKAYEK. 

O  LORD  JESU  CHRIST,  Son  of  the  Living  God,  Our 
Most  Blessed  Lord  and  Eedeemer :  Grant  us,  Priest  and 
People,  so  to  have  in  remembrance  Thy  Life  and  Death 
and  Character  that  we  may  pattern  ourselves  after 
Thee,  so  far  as  in  us  lies.  Give  us  grace  ever  to  go  up- 
ward and  onward,  as  we  try  day  by  day  more  completely 
to  consecrate  ourselves  and  souls  and  bodies  to  do  the 
Will  of  God.  Let  Thy  Blessed  Passion  and  Precious 
Death  show  forth  in  us  in  our  sorrow  for  sin  and  our 
death  unto  self:  Thy  Mighty  Kesurrection  and  Glorious 
Ascension  in  our  living  the  risen  life  and  our  seeking 
the  things  which  are  above.  Wash  us  in  Thy  Precious 
Blood,  consecrate  us  with  Thy  Cross,  illuminate  us 
with  Thy  Light,  strengthen  us  with  Thy  Power,  and 
make  us  like  unto  Thee,  meek  and  lowly  and  humble 
of  heart.  And  if  it  be  Thy  Will,  so  prevent  and  bless 
us  in  all  that  we  do,  that  in  life  we  may  live  to  the 
Honour  and  Glory  of  God,  and  in  death  may  rise  to 
the  Life  Immortal;  through  Thy  Merits  and  Media- 
tion, O  Lord,  Our  Strength  and  Our  Kedeemer! 


THE    LIFE    OF    OFFERING. 

"Present  your   bodies  a   living  sacrifice,   holy,   acceptable 

unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service" — 

Romans  xii. 

YEAR  by  year,  on  each  recurring  Good  Friday 
the  Church  calls  her  children  to  meet  at  the  foot 
of  the  Cross  and  look  upon  Our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ  nailed  to  the  Tree  of  Shame.  The 
Cross  is  the  divider  of  men ;  it  is  the  parting  of  the 
ways;  ever  separating  the  wheat  from  the  chaff, 
the  good  from  the  bad,  for  "it  is  to  those  who 
perish,  foolishness ;  but  to  those  who  are  saved,  the 
power  of  God."  To  this  Cross,  sooner  or  later,  all 
men  must  come,  to  "look  on  Him  whom  they 
pierced/'1  either  in  faith,  love,  and  repentance,  or 
in  mockery,  hate,  and  blasphemy. 

For  the  history  of  the  two  malefactors  is  ever 
being  repeated,  as  the  solemn  spectacle  of  the 


1  Zechariah  xii.  10,  St.  John  xix.  37. 


2  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

Suffering  Saviour  moves  one  person  to  seek  mercy 
and  pardon,  and  confirms  another  to  continue 
hard  and  sullen :  the  Cross  saving  the  one  and  con- 
demning the  other,  as  with  the  two  thieves  on 
Calvary. 

"I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  Me/'1  saith  the  Master.  The  Cross 
is  the  Magnet  that  attracts,  the  Balance  that 
weighs,  the  Judge  that  decides.  Its  cross  arms 
extending  outward,  collect  from  all  parts  of  the 
world;  its  lower  arm,  buried  in  the  ground, 
points  those  of  the  earth  earthy  to  the  darkness 
of  hell;  its  upper  arm,  raised  towards  the  skies, 
lifts  the  spiritually  minded  to  the  light  of  heaven ; 
and  when  men  finally  look  upon  the  Cross,  the 
sacred  symbol  of  our  salvation,  one  last  chance 
is  ever  given  to  the  sinner  to  make  his  peace  with 
God  and  be  washed  in  the  Precious  Blood  of  Jesus. 

The  devout  Saint  Bonaventura,  on  once  being 
asked  by  Saint  Thomas  Aquinas  to  see  the  library 
from  which  he  drew  his  thoughts  and  teachings, 
pointed  to  the  Crucifix  and  said  that  all  he  knew 
he  learned  there.  So  we,  looking  upon  Jesus 


1  St.  John  xii.  32. 


INTRODUCTORY.  3 

Christ  and  Him  crucified,  may  learn  many  pre- 
cious lessons  for  our  soul's  health,  for  the  Cross 
is  as  a  fountain  never  dry,  from  which  continually 
flow  the  waters  of  life.  For  in  the  Cross  and  in 
the  Seven  Words  spoken  by  the  Master,  can  be  seen 
set  forth  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Seven  Beatitudes, 
the  Seven  Virtues,  and  those  ever  fruitful  lessons 
of  pardon,  penitence,  love,  trust,  devotion,  conse- 
cration, resignation,  and  the  like,  revealing  the 
love  of  God,  the  awf ulness  of  sin,  and  the  sacrifice 
of  Jesus. 

Yet  perhaps  there  is  no  more  inspiring  and  il- 
luminating thought  than  that  which  we  would  now 
fain  bring  out,  the  Life  of  Offering  or  the  com- 
plete consecration  of  ourselves  to  God,  with  all 
that  we  love  and  all  that  we  have,  to  be  His  for- 
ever and  ever,  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,  so 
that  we  may  say,  "O  Lord,  give  what  Thou  com- 
mandest  and  command  what  Thou  wilt,"  as  we 
live  and  die  for  God's  Glory. 

Let  it  then  be  our  practice  not  only  at  length 
upon  Good  Friday  but  also  in  briefer  way  upon 
every  Friday  to  look  upon  the  Master,  offering  His 
life  for  us.  Let  us  see  the  Precious  Blood  being 


4  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

shed,  let  us  hear  the  blessed  words  being  spoken, 
and  let  the  dreadful  reality  stamp  its  indelible 
impress  on  heart  and  soul,  so  that  the  Sacrifice  of 
Calvary  may  not  be  unavailing  for  us.  Nor  let 
us  fail  to  see  if  we  cannot  trace  some  likeness  to 
ourselves  in  the  faces  of  those  about  the  Cross,  that 
if  we  are  among  those  who  love  and  adore,  our  de- 
votion may  deepen  with  each  changing  hour; 
or  if  we  are  among  those  who  mock  and  revile, 
we  may  repent  and  reform  ere  death  forever 
settles  our  doom.  Saint  or  sinner,  it  matters 
not  in  the  coming,  if  only  in  the  leaving,  that 
Cross  with  the  Blessed  Body  of  the  Master  has 
made  us  real  penitents  indeed,  washed  in  His 
Precious  Blood,  going  forth  to  life  or  death,  par- 
doned and  in  peace,  the  true  children  of  God. 


II. 

THE  OFFERING  OF  OURSELVES  TO  GOD. 

THE  FIBST  WORD:     "Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know 
not  what  they  do" — St.  Luke  xxiii.  34. 

I.  OUR  LORD  stands  on  Calvary,  waiting  to 
stretch  Himself  upon  the  Cross.  The  last  awful 
chapter  in  His  Passion  is  to  be  fulfilled.  For 
hours  the  Master  has  been  suffering,  as  none  other 
ever  suffered.  From  the  time  when  in  the  upper 
room  He  had  instituted  the  Blessed  Sacrament  of 
His  Body  and  Blood  (His  Passion  in  Holy  Mys- 
tery), and  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  had 
endured  the  Agony  and  Bloody  Sweat  as  He  saw, 
as  it  were,  a  vision  of  the  shame  of  the  Cross  and 
the  sin  of  the  world,  Our  Lord  had  fully  realized 
the  words  of  the  Prophet,  ffHe  is  despised  and  re- 
jected of  men,  a  Man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
with  grief/'1 

Betrayed  by  one  Apostle,  denied  by  another, 


1  Isaiah  liii.  3. 


6  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

falsely  accused,  mocked,  reviled,  buffeted,  spat 
upon,  scourged,  and  crowned  with,  thorns  by  the 
Jews  or  Romans,  with  His  Sacred  Body  worn 
by  fasting  and  His  Precious  Blood  flowing  from 
His  wounds,  the  Master  never  wavered  in  His 
love  for  man,  but  patiently  bore  all  the  agony  and 
humiliation  that  He  might  offer  Himself  for  the 
salvation  of  the  world.  With  ropes  about  His 
neck  and  hands  and  carrying  the  heavy  cross  upon 
His  shoulder,  He  had  been  led  away  as  a  sheep  to 
the  slaughter.  Jeered  at  by  the  mob,  urged  on 
by  the  soldiers,  Jesus  had  stumbled  along  the  Way 
of  Sorrows,  repeatedly  falling  under  the  heavy 
weight  of  the  Cross,  to  arise  covered  with  blood 
and  dust,  again  to  struggle  forward.  No  pity  or 
sympathy  met  His  glance,  save  in  the  group  of 
weeping  women,  who  awaited  Him  at  the  turn  of 
the  road;  but  instead,  there  had  rung  the  hoarse 
cries  of  "Crucify  Him,  crucify  Him!"  as  the 
crowding  multitudes  raged  at  Him  Whose  whole 
life  on  earth  had  been  one  perfect  ministry  of 
love.  On  our  earthly  journey  if  trials  and  tribula- 
tions continually  beset  us,  let  us  for  our  cheer  and 
comfort  picture  Jesus  on  the  Way  of  Sorrows ! 


OFFERING  OF  OURSELVES  TO  GOD.  7 

II.  At  last  they  stand  on  Calvary,  where  Simon 
has  borne  the  Cross,  when  Our  Blessed  Lord  was 
unable  longer  to  carry  it.  The  hole  is  dug,  the 
soldiers  are  ready,  the  mob  stands  expectant.  The 
hour  of  the  sacrifice  has  come,  and  Jesus,  of  His 
Own  accord,  stretches  His  Sacred  Body  upon  the 
arms  of  the  Cross. 

There  is  the  sound  of  striking  steel.  There 
is  the  sound  of  a  pleading  Voice.  Mortal  men 
are  crucifying  the  Lord  of  Glory,  and  He  in  words 
of  tender  mercy  and  yearning  love  is  praying  for 
those  who  are  driving  those  dreadful  nails  through 
Hands  and  Feet,  lacerating  His  Sacred  Flesh, 
causing  exquisite  suffering,  and  staining  Body 
and  Cross,  nails  and  soldiers  with  the  crimson 
tide  of  the  Saviour's  Blood.  Yet  in  His  awful 
agony,  Our  Lord  has  no  word  of  anger  or  re- 
proach, but  prayers  for  pardon  for  those  who  so 
used  Him,  saying  again  and  again,  " 'Father,  for- 
give them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do/'1 

The  Master  is  praying  for  those  who  nailed 
Him  to  the  Tree !  He  is  pleading  His  Passion  for 
the  souls  of  sinners !  He  is  offering  Himself,  His 


1  St.  Luke  xxiii.  34. 


8  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

Life  of  Love,  that  the  world  may  be  saved.  He  is 
all  love  and  He  presents  that  love  Vith  His  Life 
and  Passion  before  the  throne  of  God,  offering 
His  merits  and  mediation  for  sinful  men. 

What  inspiration  and  power  is  there  for  us 
in  this  example  of  the  Master :  of  prayer,  of  par- 
don, of  the  presentation  of  the  Passion,  "for 
greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this:  that  he  die  for 
another/'1  For  the  Saviour  is  fulfilling  the  will 
of  God,  is  giving  His  life  to  God,  and  is  pleading 
for  the  souls  of  men.  May  we  not  see,  among 
many  other  lessons,  the  First  Word  from  the 
Cross  teaching  us  the  Life  of  Offering,  in  the 
presentation  of  ourselves  and  souls  and  bodies  to 
be  a  living  sacrifice  unto  God,  in  a  life  hid  with 
Christ  in  God,  through  union  with  Jesus  in  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  which  is  the  continual  pleading 
of  the  Passion  ? 

III.  As  truly  as  Christian  Life  is  life  in 
union  with  Our  Lord,  as  Christian  character  is 
character  in  union  with  Christ,  so  Christian  offer- 
ing is  offering  in  union  with  Christ.  The  pur- 
pose of  our  earthly  life  is  to  prepare  us  for 


1  See  St.  John  xv.  13. 


OFFERING  OF  OURSELVES  TO  GOD.  9 

heaven,  which  aim  is  accomplished  by  our  "fol- 
lowing the  example  of  Our  Saviour  Christ  and 
being  made  like  unto  Him."1  Consequently  as  He 
offered  Himself  to  do  the  will  of  the  Father,  we 
must  offer  ourselves.  Yet  when  we  look  at  our 
lives,  ourselves,  our  prayers,  praises,  penances, 
good  works,  whatever  they  may  be,  they  are  all  full 
of  faults  and  stained  with  sins,  and  are  all  un- 
worthy, unacceptable,  and  unavailing  unless  united 
with  the  offering  of  Our  Blessed  Lord,  and  joined 
to  His  merits  and  mediation.  This  offering  of  Our 
Lord,  we  have  seen,  finds  its  climax  in  the  Passion, 
that  "one,  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice, 
oblation,  and  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world,"2  for  therein  the  Only-begotten  Son  of  the 
Father  offered  Himself  as  the  Lamb  of  God  in  the 
sacrifice  once  for  all  made  on  the  Cross  on  Calvary, 
but  evermore  presented  in  glory  in  heaven,  as  our 
TjO?dffever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  tis/'8and 
pleaded  in  Holy  Mystery  on  earth,  in  the  Holy 
Eucharist  or  Sacrifice  of  the  Altar.  Here  there- 
fore is  provided  the  means  of  union  with  Christ's 


1  See  Baptismal  Office.  8  Hebrews  vii.  25. 

2  Canon  of  Cons.,  Communion  Office,  P.  B. 


10  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

Sacrifice  of  Himself  once  offered,  for  one  intention 
of  Our  Lord  in  the  Institution  of  the  Holy  Eu- 
charist was  to  leave  the  Church  a  way  of  com- 
memorating the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross,  and  in  the 
Holy  Mysteries,  to  offer  the  Memorial  of  His  Pas- 
sion for  the  living  and  the  dead,  Cf showing  forth 
His  death  till  He  come."1 

IV.  In  the  Holy  Eucharist,  thus  pleading  the 
Passion  and  continuing  the  intercession  of  the 
Cross,  is  found  the  very  key  to  the  higher  and 
holier  life.  It  bridges  earth  and  heaven,  unites 
God  and  man,  and  sanctifies  each  and  every 
part  of  our  earthly  existence,  bringing  us  into 
the  very  presence-chamber  of  the  Risen  King 
and  at  the  same  time  remembering  the  Death 
Bed  of  the  Saviour  Christ.  Received,  it  is  the 
Bread  of  Life,  feeding  our  starved  souls  with 
the  life-giving  Body  and  Blood  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Offered,  it  avails  for  the  quick 
and  the  dead  and  is  the  all-prevailing  prayer 
of  the  Church.  The  highest  privilege  of  a  priest 
is  to  stand  at  the  altar  and  offer  this  Holy 
Sacrifice.  The  highest  privilege  of  a  layman  is 

1  See  I.  Cor.  xi.  26. 


OFFERING  OF  OURSELVES  TO  GOD.      11 

to  receive  the  Blessed  Sacrament  and  assist  at 
this  pleading  of  the  Passion. 

Think  of  the  saints,  past  and  present,  who  have 
found  in  these  Holy  Mysteries  their  most  precious 
food,  their  most  adoring  worship,  the  very  life 
itself,  since  Him  they  offered  and  received  was 
Jesus  Christ  the  Crucified  and  Risen  Lord.  Is 
not  the  main  reason  for  the  lack  of  faith,  hope, 
and  love  to-day,  for  the  absence  of  real  spiritual- 
ity, for  the  poor  and  halting  prayers,  because  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Altar  has  lost  its  proper  place  in  the 
life  and  worship  of  many  people,  because  thou- 
sands are  living  apart  from  the  Sacramental  Pres- 
ence of  Jesus  and  fail  to  plead  His  Passion? 

V.  What  would  our  life  be,  if  we  could  daily 
come  to  that  sacred  Presence  and  daily  plead  the 
Passion?  Might  this  not  at  least  be  the  ideal  of 
our  Life  of  Offering,  even  if  we  failed  closely  to 
approach  it:  frequent  Communion,  frequent  wor- 
ship, ever  offering  this  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Altar 
on  Sundays,  Holy  Days,  and  Saints'  Days,  before 
the  great  turning  points  and  on  the  great  anniver- 
saries of  our  life,  in  trial  and  temptation,  in  sor- 
row and  sickness,  in  joy  and  pleasure,  as  our  light, 


12  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

love,  life,  strength,  and  ref reshmentj  offering  with 
the  Offering  of  Our  Lord  ourselves,  our  souls,  our 
bodies,  our  faith,  our  hope,  our  charity,  our 
prayers,  our  alms,  our  sacrifices,  our  good  works, 
our  confessions,  our  intercessions,  our  thanksgiv- 
ings, our  praises,  bringing  before  God  ourselves 
and  others,  united  to  Christ  in  the  pleading  of  His 
Death  upon  the  Cross  ?  No  one  can  overestimate 
this  offering  the  Blessed  Sacrament  with  "inten- 
tion," for  all  for  whom  we  would  intercede, 
whether  others  or  ourselves:  " Between  our  sins 
and  their  reward,  we  set  the  Passion  of  Thy  Son 
Our  Lord/'1 

VI.  In  our  Life  of  Offering,  united  with  this 
Offering  of  Jesus,  there  will  be  our  duty  to  our- 
selves and  to  others. 

The  Life  of  Offering  begins  with  self,  accord- 
ing to  the  old  adage,  "Charity  begins  at  home." 
This  must  be  entire  dedication  to  God.  As  when 
principles  are  fully  assured,  the  proper  applica- 
tion follows  without  special  rule,  so  when  our  lives 
are  perfectly  offered  to  God,  the  daily  practice  of 
holiness  needs  little  indication.  This  perfect  of- 

*Dr.  Bright,  Hymn  228. 


OFFERING  OF  OURSELVES  TO  GOD.  13 

fering  of  self  to  God  practically  begins  and  ends 
with  the  will.  When  the  will  is  yielded  to  God, 
the  crisis  of  life  is  past.  Not  until  our  will  is  in 
perfect  conformity  with  the  will  of  God,  not  until 
we  can  truly  say  to  God,  "I  will  what  Thou  wiliest 
and  what  Thou  wiliest  not,  I  do  not  will,"  is  the 
conquest  made,  and  perfect  peace  enters  into  the 
soul  of  man,  for  peace  comes  in  the  giving  up  of 
self  entirely  to  the  Divine  Will.  As  long  as  one 
particle  of  self-will  remains,  as  long  as  there  is 
any  compromise  or  half  measure,  we  have  neither 
rest  nor  resignation,  but  when  self  is  conquered 
and  offered  to  God,  then,  though  the  waves  of  sin, 
sorrow,  or  suffering  are  beating  against  us,  we 
will  be  in  perfect  peace,  as  God  reigns  and  rules 
in  rightful  sovereignty. 

VII.  Perfect  contrition  places  the  sinner's  soul 
in  submission  to  the  will  of  God:  perfect  contri- 
tion comes  from  looking  on  the  Cross :  and  is  that 
love  of  God  and  that  sorrow  for  sin  which,  seeing 
life  in  its  true  aspect  and  God  and  man  in  their 
relative  positions,  bows  the  human  will  before  the 
Divine  Will,  and,  in  the  words  of  Saint  Augustine, 
says :  "I  have  sought  pleasure  in  creatures  which  is 


14  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

only  to  be  found  in  Thee;  and  nob  behold  all  is 
vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit;  for  Thou  hast  made 
me  for  Thyself  and  my  heart  hath  found  no  true 
rest  until  it  found  rest  in  Thee/'  The  Life  of  Of- 
fering is  thus  the  submitting  of  our  self  to  God  and 
the  perfect  acceptance  by  our  will  of  the  Divine 
Will,  by  which  we  come  to  will  as  God  wills  us  to 
will,  to  do  as  God  wills  us  to  do,  to  think  as  God 
wills  us  to  think,  to  speak  as  God  wills  us  to  speak, 
the  doing,  thinking,  and  speaking  little  by  little 
coming  into  accord  with  the  will  that  wills  the  Will 
of  God,  by  the  practice  of  constant  recollection  of 
the  Divine  Presence. 

VIII.  See  now  how  submission  to  the  Divine 
Will  affects  our  relations  with  others.  We  have  en- 
emies, who  have  grievously  injured  or  offended  us : 
Self-will  would  give  like  for  like,  but  the  will 
conformed  to  the  Divine  Will  forgives  and  prays 
for  them.  For  can  we  refuse  to  forgive  or  pray 
for  those  who  despitef ully  use  us  when  we  think  of 
God's  will  that  they  be  forgiven,  when  we  think 
of  the  gracious  words  of  pardon  of  Jesus  Christ 
on  the  Cross  ?  Naught  that  man  can  do  to  us  can 
compare  with  what  man  did  to  Our  Lord !  Surely 


OFFERING  OF  OURSELVES  TO  GOD.  15 

if  He  could  forgive  and  pray  for  those  who  nailed 
Him  to  the  Tree,  we  can  do  likewise  for  those  who 
wrong  us,  and  can  offer  the  Holy  Eucharist  for 
their  pardon  and  repentance. 

Or  we  have  dear  ones,  and  we  would  help 
them :  so  again  we  take  their  virtues,  their  faults, 
their  needs,  whatever  they  may  be,  and  present 
them  before  the  throne  of  Grace,  in  union  with 
Christ's  Holy  Passion.  We  may  not  see  or  know 
the  result,  but  we  may  be  sure  of  this :  that  there 
is  no  more  prevailing  prayer  that  we  can  offer  for 
those  we  love  than  the  pleading  of  the  Sacrifice  of 
the  Altar,  which  can  never  be  fruitless  or  unavail- 
ing. 

IX.  Here,  then,  we  may  see  one  lesson  from 
the  First  Word  from  the  Cross :  the  Life  of  Offer- 
ing, lived  and  offered  in  union  with  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  the  memorial  of  the  Passion,  a  life  lived 
with  Jesus  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar.  That 
life  naturally  is  largely  a  hidden  life;  it  is  un- 
known to  the  world  about  us ;  it  is  so  rich  in  inner 
peace  and  joy  and  exaltation  of  spirit  that  it  is  too 
sacred  to  reveal  even  to  those  nearest  and  dearest. 
For  that  life,  for  all  its  faults  and  failings,  in  its 


16  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

outward  fruits,  is  nevertheless  aJ  life  hid  with 
Jesus,  Who  is  gradually  transforming  Such  souls 
into  the  likeness  of  Himself,  as  they  see  the 
"Qlory  of  God  in  the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ/'1 
that  dear  Lord  Who  is  just  as  really  present  in 
the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  as  when  once 
He  walked  the  paths  of  earth  or  as  now  He  stands 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  just  as  really  present, 
though  after  a  different  manner,  that  is  spiritually 
and  supernaturally. 

Shall  we  not  resolve  to  live  this  Life  of  Offer- 
ing, ever  submitting  our  will  to  the  Divine  Will, 
ever  pleading  the  Passion  of  Christ,  making  the 
Holy  Eucharist  the  centre  of  our  life,  offering 
that  Sacrifice  of  the  Altar  for  ourselves  and  for 
others,  for  friends  and  for  foes,  for  the  living 
and  for  the  dead?  For  by  this  constant  coming 
into  the  Sacramental  Presence  of  the  Master  and 
offering  our  life  to  God  in  union  with  the  Offering 
of  Christ,  we  will  make  to  ourselves  an  atmosphere 
of  religion,  we  will  gain  the  spirit  of  recollection, 
and  we  will  win  such  measure  of  Divine  Charity 
as  may  enable  us  to  live  and  die  in  Christ  and 


1 II.  Cor.  iv.  6. 


OFFEK1NG  OF  OUKSELVES  TO  GOD.      17 

rise  to  see  God's  Beautiful  Face  in  the  life  here- 
after. This  is  the  call  of  the  Crucified  One  to 
those  who  would  become  the  true  children  of  the 
Father.  This  is  the  counsel  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, wherein  God,  speaking  by  His  chosen  Apos- 
tle, bids  us  to  present  ourselves  ffa  living  sacrifice, 
holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  our  reasonable 
service/'1  The  measure  of  our  response  will  be 
the  measure  of  our  love  for  God  and  of  our  devo- 
tion to  the  Master. 


1  Romans  xii. 


III. 

THE    OFFERING    OF    OUR    SINS    TO    GOD. 

THE  SECOND  WORD:     "Verity,  I  say  unto  thee:  to-day  thou 
shalt  6e  with  Me  in  Paradise" — St.  Luke  xxiii.  43. 

X.  THERE  were  two  thieves  crucified  with  Our 
Lord,  one  on  the  right  and  one  on  the  left.  These 
men  were  probably  guilty  of  many  sins  and  crimes, 
such  as  theft,  murder,  and  rapine,  and  were  now 
suffering  the  just  penalty  of  their  life  of  evil- 
doing.  As  they  saw  Jesus  hanging  on  the  Cross, 
they  had  mocked  and  jeered  with  the  multitudes. 
Hardened  and  shameless,  they  had  no  pity  or  feel- 
ing for  One  they  must  have  seen  to  be  holy  and 
innocent  of  any  wrong-doing,  for  His  very  sanctity 
was  a  condemnation  of  their  own  wickedness. 

Sin,  as  it  always  does,  had  blinded  their  eyes, 
had  deadened  their  ears,  and  conscience,  which 
should  have  been  the  constant  medium  for  hearing 
the  still,  small  voice,  the  Voice  of  God,  no  longer 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  SINS  TO  GOD.  19 

acted,  or,  if  it  did  act,  did  so  in  vague  and  uncer- 
tain way. 

Yet  now,  in  the  Presence  of  Christ  Crucified, 
face  to  face  with  death  and  with  the  Master  unto 
Whom  all  judgment  hath  been  committed,1  re- 
pentance at  the  last  hour,  so  rare  and  so  dan- 
gerous to  await,  came  to  one  of  the  malefactors. 
He  stopped  his  mocking  of  the  Master,  he  re- 
proved his  comrade  in  sin,  as  he  saw  his  life 
drawing  to  its  close  with  nothing  but  evil-doing  to 
offer.  How  long  ago  seemed  those  days  of  inno- 
cent childhood,  how  almost  forgotten  those  faces  of 
father  and  mother,  who  had  once  hoped  so  much  of 
him,  but  how  clear  seemed  his  first  steps  in  sin  and 
the  many  years  of  wickedness  which  had  followed 
those  little  beginnings  of  evil !  For  those  sins,  un- 
checked and  unrepented  of,  had  eaten  like  some 
cancerous  disease  into  his  whole  nature  until 
naught  but  evil  was  thought  and  done.  Now  he 
was  face  to  face  with  death  and  damnation.  The 
callous  indifference  or  fancied  unbelief  of  the 
years  past  no  longer  availed,  for  he  saw  the 
certainty  of  merited  punishment.  Yet  as  the 


1  St.  John  v.  22. 


20  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

cold  sweat  stands  upon  his  brows,  and  the  chill  of 
fear  comes  upon  his  body,  he  suddenly  remembers 
those  wonderful  words  just  uttered  by  Jesus  as  He 
was  nailed  to  the  Cross,  "Father,  forgive  them  for 
they  know  not  what  they  do."  Could  there  be  hope 
for  him  ?  He  looks  at  the  Cross  and  sees  the  Pre- 
cious Blood  staining  the  Sacred  Body  of  the  Lord. 
Could  that  Precious  Blood  avail  for  him?  Sud- 
denly faith,  hope,  and  love  spring  up  within  his 
soul.  The  Cross  does  its  work!  The  thief  will 
offer  to  God,  himself  and  his  sins — for  that  is  all 
he  has  to  offer — he  will  lay  those  sins  upon  the  Sin- 
Bearer,  to  be  washed  away  in  His  Precious  Blood : 
"Lord,  remember  me  when  Thou  comest  into  Thy 
Kingdom."1  It  is  the  cry  of  a  child,  the  cry  of  a 
penitent,  the  cry  of  one  who  has  become  meek  and 
lowly  of  heart,  for  the  petition  is  only  to  be  re- 
membered in  mercy.  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee,  to-day  thou  shalt  be  with  Me  in  Paradise/'2 
the  Saviour  answers,  in  His  love  giving  pardon 
and  peace  to  the  penitent,  absolution  from  the 
penalty  of  his  sin,  blessing  in  the  world  to  come. 
And  when  later,  the  thief  lay  dead  upon  his  cross, 


1  St.  Luke  xxiii.  42.  a  St.  Luke  xxiii.  43. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  SINS  TO  GOD.  21 

his  soul  was  with.  Jesus,  there  to  be  purified  and 
prepared  in  the  Place  of  Departed  Spirits  for  the 
joys  of  heaven. 

XL  O!  that  solemn  lesson  from  the  Cross: 
two  thieves  crucified,  one  thief  repentant ;  for  our 
warning  and  for  our  encouragement,  that  we  may 
see  the  dreadful  danger  of  putting  off  repentance 
for  ourselves,  yet  of  our  charity  may  still  hope  for 
others  we  see  continuing  their  evil  life. 

Here  then  is  our  lesson:  the  Offering  of  our 
sins  to  God,  in  the  practice  of  perfect  contrition, 
in  the  carrying  of  our  burden  to  the  Cross  in 
Confession,  in  the  washing  away  in  the  Precious 
Blood  in  Absolution.  Sins  may  be  venial  or  mor- 
tal, that  is:  of  great  gravity  and  done  willingly, 
knowingly,  and  deliberately  and  so  cutting  us  off 
from  God,  or  of  less  moment,  grieving  God,  yet 
still  preserving  our  union  with  Him.  All  sins, 
however,  in  greater  or  less  degree,  are  offences 
against  God's  love,  and  all  merit  punishment  here 
or  hereafter.  Sins  ever  increasingly  multiply, 
for  where  virtues  like  fragrant  flowers  grow 
slowly,  sins  like  noxious  weeds  spread  rapidly, 
and  so  poisonous  are  they,  that  ere  we  know  it,  the 


22  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

venial  sins  have  become  mortal  sins  and  the  evil 
habits  have  become  deeply  rootea  in  our  life. 
Sin  caused  the  Fall,  brought  death  and  disease  into 
the  world,  nailed  Jesus  to  the  Cross,  and  ever 
seeks  to  ruin  our  souls,  for  sin  is  the  result  of  the 
temptation  of  the  Devil,  who  while  he  can  never 
force  us  to  sin,  by  suggestion  soon  persuades  us, 
if  we  do  not  be  on  our  guard  and  use  the  weapon 
God  has  provided :  His  sanctifying  power  or  Di- 
vine Grace,  given  in  prayer  and  sacrament. 

XII.  To  escape  the  bondage  and  penalty  of  sin, 
no  half-hearted  measures  will  avail.  The  sins 
must  be  killed,,  not  wounded;  they  must  be  plucked 
out,  not  trimmed  down;  they  must  be  sought  for 
and  found  in  examination  of  self  and  gathered  to- 
gether and  offered  in  confession  to  God.  To  cut 
off  some  sins  and  to  cherish  others  is  but  a  com- 
promise with  the  Devil,  a  bargain  which  in- 
variably weakens  the  will  and  exposes  the  soul  to 
ruination.  As  a  garment  eaten  by  moths,  tiny 
creatures  as  they  are,  is  absolutely  worthless,  so 
the  soul,  eaten  by  sins,  little  as  they  may  be,  is 
entirely  spoiled.  No  virtues  avail  so  long  as  vices 
are  cherished ;  no  good  works  merit  so  long  as  evil 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  SINS  TO  GOD.  23 

reigns  in  the  heart.  We  do  not  help  a  plague- 
stricken  city  by  building  beautiful  monuments. 
We  do  not  become  clean  by  wearing  handsome 
clothes.  So  with  the  soul,  infected  with  evil  and 
stained  with  sins,  we  need  to  seek  the  source  or 
cause  of  the  disorder  and  to  use  the  cleansing 
waters  of  Contrition.  What  the  world  to-day 
needs  above  all  things  is  the  sense  of  sin,  such  ap- 
preciation of  it  as  sets  in  bold,  bare,  dreadful 
contrast  the  infinite  love  and  mercy  and  goodness 
of  God  and  the  awful  ungratefulness,  injury,  and 
vileness  of  sin.  For  our  hatred  and  horror  of 
sin  should  not  be  because  we  fear  hell,  but  rather 
because  we  grieve  the  Good  God  and  make  such 
evil  return  for  His  love. 

XIII.  The  offering  of  our  sins  to  God  is  thus 
a  means  to  this  end.  In  the  light  of  Divine  Grace, 
assisted  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  search  for  our  sins, 
we  see  our  sins,  we  know  them  one  by  one,  we  hate 
those  sins,  we  would  free  us  of  their  burden,  we 
would  make  a  fresh  start.  With  the  thief,  we  look 
at  the  Tree.  With  the  thief  we  hear  Our  Lord's 
gracious  words.  With  the  thief  we  would  lay  our 
sins  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  offering  those  sins 


24  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

with  our  sinful  selves  to  the  Master,  for  His 
Precious  Blood  to  fall  upon  them.  For  is  He  not 
the  Sin-Bearer/  the  Scape-Goat?2  Does  He  not 
say :  "Come  unto  Me  all  ye  that  travail"*  (labour- 
ing and  struggling  against  evil  habits)  "and  are 
heavy  laden'3  (bowed  under  the  weight  of  our 
sins)  "and  I  will  give  you  rest"3  (pardon  and 
peace  in  Absolution)  ? 

XIV.  O !  what  a  relief  is  it  to  the  sin-stricken 
soul  to  bear  its  burden  to  the  Cross,  and  to  offer 
those  sins  to  God  in  real  repentance!  Not  only 
dreadful  doings,  such  as  murder,  adultery,  and 
theft,  which,  God  grant,  we  may  never  commit, 
but  also  any  form  of  pride,  anger,  covetousness, 
impurity,  envy,  sloth,  and  gluttony,  as  well  as  any 
and  all  sins  of  omission  and  commission,  for  they 
all  should  be  known  and  offered.  For  let  us  note 
carefully  that  in  the  Scriptures,  almost  all  of 
those  who  are  mentioned  as  being  cast  out  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  are  those  sinning  by  omis- 
sion,, such  as  the  man  with  the  one  talent,  and 
the  foolish  virgins,  who  failed  to  do  what  they 


1  Isaiah  liii.  6.  2  Lev.  xvi.  21,  22 ;  Isaiah  Ixiii.  6. 

8  St.  Matthew  xi.  28. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  SINS  TO  GOD.  25 

should  have  done.  Yet  when  we  see  our  sins 
in  all  their  clearness  and  when  we  tremble  at 
the  fresh  assaults  of  temptation,  we  may  re- 
member for  our  encouragement,  that  as  savage 
dogs,  for  all  their  fierce  barking,1  do  no  harm  so 
long  as  the  door  is  barred,  so  our  temptations,  for 
all  their  horrid  suggestions,  do  not  injure  the  soul 
so  long  as  the  will  closes  the  approach. 

XV.  Let  us  learn,  then,  to  offer  our  sins  to 
God.  First  we  must  look  on  the  Cross  and  by 
the  sight  of  Jesus  Crucified  get  true  Contrition, 
which  is  love  of  God  and  sorrow  for  our  sins. 
Then  we  must  search  our  consciences  and  confess 
to  God,  alone  or  in  the  presence  of  a  priest,  each 
and  every  sin,  offering  them  to  Jesus,  making  this 
confession,  briefly  every  night  and  more  at  length 
before  Communion.  Thus  by  this  continual  offer- 
ing of  our  sins  to  God,  we  will  daily  make  a  new 
start,  pure  and  clean  again,  for  while  God  may 
make  us  bear  (as  we  should  sincerely  wish  to  bear) 
the  temporal  punishment  for  our  sin,  yet  the  eter- 
nal penalty  of  our  sin  is  washed  away  by  the  Pre- 
cious Blood  of  Jesus,  and  free  from  that  burden 


1  St.  Francis  de  Sales. 


26  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

with  garments  washed  in  the  Bloo^  of  the  Lamb, 
we  go  forth  to  our  daily  life,  in  a  state -of  salva- 
tion, absolved  by  Jesus,  with  the  thought  of  par- 
don and  peace  making  sweet  melody  in  our  hearts. 
XVI.  Let  us  learn  this  lesson  of  offering  our 
sins  daily  to  God,  and  have  the  blessed  assurance 
of  the  Master,  "Go  in  peace,  thy  sins  be  forgiven 
thee/'1  And  let  us  at  stated  times  offer  the  Holy 
Eucharist  with  special  intention  that  it  may  be  as 
the  prayer  of  the  poor  thief  which  won  pardon  and 
peace:  "Lord,  remember  me,  when  Thou  comest 
into  Thy  Kingdom/'  We  need  every  help  within 
our  power.  We  must  work  out  our  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling.  Let  us  then  not  neglect  a 
means  which  our  Lord  has  Himself  provided  for 
our  use  and  aid. 


1  See  St.  Luke  vii.  37-50. 


IV. 

THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  DEAR  ONES  TO  GOD. 

THE  THIRD  WORD:     "Woman,  behold  thy  son;  behold  thy 
mother."— St.  John  xix.  26,  27. 

XVII.  OUR  LORD  sees  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross, 
Saint  Mary  His  Mother  and  Saint  John  the  Be- 
loved Disciple.  They  are  standing  there,  full  of 
unutterable  sorrow  for  the  sufferings  of  Jesus, 
powerless  to  extend  any  comfort  to  Him  save  that 
of  silent  sympathy  and  adoring  love.  The  prophecy 
of  Simeon,  at  the  Presentation  of  Christ  in  the 
Temple,  is  now  being  fulfilled,  as  Mary  in  her 
sorrow  for  the  agony  of  her  Divine  Son,  realizes 
the  meaning  of  those  almost  forgotten  words,  "A 
sword  shall  pierce  thy  soul  also/'1  The  holy 
Mother  knew  that  the  Passion  was  to  be.  She 
had  probably  been  told  that  only  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  His  Life,  could  the  Master  accomplish  the 
salvation  of  the  world,  but,  O!  how  dreadful  it 


1  St.  Luke  ii.  35. 


28  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

must  have  been  to  Saint  Mary  to  spe  Him  Whom 
she  had  brought  forth  at  Bethlehem,  Whom  she  had 
cradled  on  her  knee  and  nursed  at  her  breast, 
Whom  she  knew  to  be  the  Only-begotten  Son  of 
God,  now  hanging  with  stripped  and  bleeding 
body  upon  the  Cross,  between  two  thieves,  suffer- 
ing the  most  exquisite  agony ! 

Jesus  sees  the  Virgin  in  her  love  and  devotion 
standing  at  His  feet.  He  knows  the  anguish  of 
that  loving  heart  and  He  would  spare  her  the 
greater  sorrow  which  was  to  come,  with  the  shadow 
of  darkness  which  He  saw  would  soon  gradually 
shroud  the  whole  scene.  It  was  a  comfort  for 
Him,  the  Master,  to  have  the  silent  sympathy  of 
Mary,  the  humble  handmaid1  of  the  Lord,  yet  He, 
Who  never  thought  of  Self,  willed  to  forego  even 
this  to  spare  her  who  had  been  sanctified  by  the 
Holy  Ghost2  to  be  the  instrument  of  His  Incarna- 
tion and  had  so  tenderly  and  reverently  watched 
over  His  early  years. 

XVIII.  Our  Lord  the  Good  Shepherd  was  to 
lay  down  His  life  for  His  sheep.  He  would  now 
make  part  of  that  sublime  sacrifice  of  Self  by  send- 


1  St.  Luke  I.  38,  48.  2  St.  Luke  I.  35. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  DEAR  ONES  TO  GOD.        29 

ing  away  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  Him  on 
earth,  in  order  to  spare  them  the  last  agony. 
"Woman,  behold  thy  son/'  "Son,  behold  thy  moth- 
er" comes  from  the  Cross.  It  is  the  Master's  sa- 
cred charge  and  commission  to  Saint  Mary  and 
Saint  John,  consigning  those  two  holy  and  devout 
souls,  to  a  companionship  together  in  a  home  hal- 
lowed evermore  by  their  mutual  love  and  adoration 
for  Jesus,  their  Lord  and  King.  We  cannot  exag- 
gerate this  sacrifice  of  the  Master,  or  this  sacrifice 
of  those  He  loved,  as  obedient  to  His  command, 
they  look  long  and  lovingly  upon  Him  they  adored 
and  then,  with  brave  submission  and  resignation, 
separated  themselves  from  Jesus  on  the  Cross  and 
went  their  way  to  their  home,  as  the  shadows  set- 
tled upon  the  scene  and  dense,  impenetrable  dark- 
ness shrouded  everything  in  its  depths.  Well  may 
we,  the  children  of  the  Church,  so  selfish  and  self- 
centered,  learn  this  lesson  of  love  in  the  sublime 
sacrifice  of  Jesus,  in  His  agony  sending  away  those 
who  adored  Him,  and  in  the  submissive  obedience 
of  Mary,  in  her  sorrow  leaving  Him  who  was  her 
very  life.  Well  may  we  worship  and  adore  Our 

1  St.  John  xix.  27. 


30  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

Lord  as  God  of  God,  and  reverence  pnd  honour  the 
Virgin  as  "Blessed  among  women/'1  the  Mother 
of  Sorrows,  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  sanctifying  their 
several  sufferings  by  undying  love  and  sacrifice! 

XIX.  In  this  example  is  seen  the  practical 
lesson  for  ourselves :  the  offering  of  our  dear  ones 
to  God. 

Human  love  is  but  the  extension  of  Divine 
love.  Love  comes  from  God  and  leads  to  God. 
It  is  the  one  enduring  virtue.  Faith  ends  in 
sight,  hope  in  realization;  but  love  never  ends  but 
is  everlasting,  here  on  earth  growing  and  blossom- 
ing, there  in  heaven  attaining  its  full  fruition  in 
its  perfect  union  with  God.  Saint  Thomas 
a  Kempis  says:  "Nothing  is  sweeter  than  love; 
nothing  stronger,  nothing  higher,  nothing  broader, 
nothing  more  pleasant,  nothing  fuller  or  better  in 
heaven  and  in  earth ;  for  love  is  born  of  God,  and 
can  rest  only  in  God  above  all  things  created" ;  and 
Saint  Augustine  says,  "My  heart  findeth  no  true 
rest  till  it  find  rest  in  Thee,"  as  God  is  loved  in 
and  through  the  creatures  of  His  Hand. 

XX.  Human  loves,  human  friendships,  and 


1  St.  Luke  i.  28,  42. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  DEAR  ONES  TO  GOD.   31 

human  relationships  are  sacred  in  God's  sight,  and 
are  the  very  sunshine  and  brightness  of  life.  It  is 
through  earthly  love  that  we  come  to  appreciate 
Divine  love.  In  the  pure  and  holy  love  which 
should  exist  between  husband  and  wife,  parents 
and  children,  brothers  and  sisters,  is  seen  reflected 
and  extended  the  Divine  love  which  unites  the 
Three  Persons  of  the  Ever-Blessed  Trinity  and  the 
sacred  bond  which  joins  the  One  and  Only  God 
with  the  creatures  of  His  Hand.  It  is  right  to 
love  our  dear  ones,  to  treasure  them,  to  delight 
in  their  society,  to  wish  to  have  them  for  our  own, 
to  love  and  to  be  loved.  God  smiles  His  Divine 
approval  upon  all  pure  and  holy  love  and 
abundantly  blesses  it  both  to  the  giver  and  the  re- 
cipient of  that  love.  Yet  He  wishes  all  persons  to 
be  loved  in  Him.  He  gave  us  our  dear  ones  to 
love ;  He  wishes  us  to  offer  back  to  Him  those  dear 
ones,  not  that  we  may  cease  to  love  them,  but  that 
thus  dedicated  to  Him  and  hence  regarded  as  a 
sacred  trust,  our  love  may  be  all  the  holier  and 
richer,  now  that  it  is  freed  from  the  thought  of 
self.  For  it  is  self  and  self  only  which  would 
withhold  our  dear  ones  from  fulfilling  God's  pur- 


32  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

pose  for  them,  which  would  make  them  follow  our 
ways  and  accede  to  our  wishes  regardless  of  the 
Divine  call  to  a  higher  and  holier  life,  here  on 
earth  or  hereafter  beyond  the  veil. 

XXI.  Frequently  it  is  due  to  this  failure  to 
sacrifice  self  in  regard  to  our  dear  ones  that  has 
made  such  sad  wrecks  of  lives  which  might  have 
shone  as  glorious  saints  among  their  brothers.  How 
often  has  this  happened.  How  rarely  do  people 
truly  offer  their  dear  ones  to  God.  They  are 
willing  to  give  them  to  the  world,  for  them  to  gain 
earthly  distinction  and  surround  themselves  with 
the  evidences  of  worldly  success,  but  they  are  not 
willing  to  offer  them  to  God.  For  instance, 
parents  are  ready  to  see  their  sons  make  money 
and  become  great  and  famous  in  their  work  or  pro- 
fession, or  for  their  daughters  to  shine  in  society 
and  make  notable  and  brilliant  marriages,  but 
they  are  not  willing  to  offer  their  sons  to  bear  their 
cross  after  the  Master  in  the  Sacred  Ministry,  or 
for  their  daughters  to  serve  Christ  in  a  holy  Sis- 
terhood, or  for  others  to  do  some  splendid,  though 
humble,  work  as  missionary,  teacher,  or  nurse, 
and  the  like !  Yet  what  blessing  would  accrue  to 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  DEAR  ONES  TO  GOD.   33 

dear  ones  offering  or  offered  to  God,  whereby  mar- 
riage would  become  holy  matrimony  and  children 
would  be  brought  up  in  the  nurture  and  fear  of  the 
Lord,  and  old  and  young,  even  the  yet  unborn 
child,  would  be  given  and  dedicated  to  God,  to  live, 
to  work,,  and  to  die  according  to  the  Divine  Will 
and  Purpose.  Or  again,  how  seldom  do  people 
offer  their  dear  ones  to  God  in  sickness  and  death. 
They  will  not  see  the  Hand  of  God  in  these  things, 
they  want  their  dear  ones  to  be  well,  to  remain 
here,  and  so  they  place  themselves  in  antagonism 
with  God,  who  would  sanctify1  by  the  sickness  or 
call2  to  Himself  in  death. 

XXII.  Surely  God's  will  should  be  supreme. 
If  we,  in  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  accept  His 
will  by  the  act  of  offering  our  dear  ones  to  Him, 
then  if  they  live  we  have  this  evidence  of  it  being 
by  Divine  permission ;  if  they  die,  we  entrust  them 
to  His  loving  care.  Some  have  thought  that  souls 
in  the  Place  of  Departed  Spirits  fail  to  rest  in 
peace  through  the  rebellion  and  lack  of  resignation 
on  the  part  of  those  here  who  refuse  to  bow  meekly 
to  God's  will  1  If,  however,  it  matters  not  to  the 


1  Hebrews  xii.  6.  2  Rev.  xiv.  13. 


34  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

dead,  it  does  to  the  living,  whose  characters  are 
thus  early  marred  and  their  sorrows  made  harder 
to  bear,  when  they  fail  to  resign  themselves  to 
God's  good  pleasure. 

It  is  of  course  hard  to  see  a  dear  one  suffer, 
it  is  natural  to  wish  the  dear  one  to  live,  it  is 
difficult  to  give  up  our  wishes  and  aims ;  but  when 
we  remember  that  God  knows  best,  when  we 
realize  the  privilege  of  suffering  as  a  means  of 
fellowship  with  Jesus  and  as  an  aid  in  the  spirit- 
ual life,  when  we  see  that  death  to  those  dying  in 
faith,  love,  and  repentance  is  but  the  entrance  to 
a  better  world  and  a  larger  life,  surely  we  should 
see  that  it  is  only  self  that  would  hold  our  dear 
ones  back,  instead  of  fully  and  resignedly,  even 
with  the  tears  streaming  from  our  eyes,  offering 
them  to  the  Good  God.  Sometimes,  too,  the  very 
act  of  offering  our  dear  ones  to  God  makes  Him 
spare  them  to  us,  as  a  reward  for  our  resignation, 
where  otherwise  He  takes  them  from  us,  since  we 
rest  in  them  and  not  in  Him. 

XXIII.  Here,  then,  is  another  lesson  from 
the  Cross :  to  offe*  our  dear  ones  to  God.  Only  in 
this  dedication  of  them  and  this  submission  to  Him 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  DEAR  ONES  TO  GOD.        35 

are  our  human  loves  fully  enjoyed  and  rightly 
cherished.  Then  they  will  be  received  as  God's 
gift  to  us,  we  will  hold  them  by  Divine  permission, 
we  will  see  God  dwelling  in  and  working  through 
our  love,  using  our  dear  ones  and  ourselves  for  His 
Honour  and  Glory,  as  we  place  all  in  His  hands, 
safe  in  the  thought  of  His  Infinite  love  and  His 
Infinite  knowledge. 

XXIV.  And  this  act  of  offering  assumes  a 
new  meaning  when  we  think  of  life.    For  our 
earthly  existence  is  not  an  end  in  itself,  but  is  a 
drop  in  the  boundless  sea  of  eternity,  fitting  us  and 
our  loves  for  an  endless  future.    Love  is  undying. 
Life  is  endless.    A  few  sufferings  and  sorrows  here 
are  as  nothing  to  the  rest  and  joy  of  the  world  to 
come.    When  the  shadows  flee  away,  when  the 
crown  succeeds  the  cross,  then  will  be  found  the  re- 
ward of  that  perfect  submission  to  the  will  of  God, 
which  here  offered  our  dear  ones,  and  there  finds 
them  in  heaven,  to  love  and  live  for  evermore  in 
unutterable  joy,  peace,  and  glory  in  the  Presence 
of  God. 

XXV.  The  spirit  of  offering,  however,  is  the 
result  of  growth.    The  natural  man,  unaided,  can- 


36  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

not  attain  to  it,  for  self  is  the  onej ruling  thought. 
We  need  the  sanctifying  power  of  God.  As  flowers 
need  the  warm  sun  and  the  refreshing  dew,  we  need 
the  love  of  God  and  the  assistance  of  Divine  Grace. 
Then  will  we  grow,  little  by  little,  until  we  can 
truly,  with  perfect  resignation  and  submission  not 
only  make  our  repeated  acts  of  offering  our  dear 
ones,  but  also  be  in  a  continuous  attitude  of  offer- 
ing. We  will  come  to  seek  to  know  God's  will  and 
way  as  to  their  life  and  work  in  the  world,  we  will 
come  to  see  God's  hand  as  to  their  sicknesses  and 
death,  and  we  will  bow  with  the  resignation  of  the 
saintly  Job,  saying:  "The  Lord  gave:  the  Lord 
hath  taken  away;  Blessed  be  the  Name  of  the 
Lord/'1 

Let  us  then  look  at  the  Cross,  and  note  the 
wonderful  lesson  of  the  Third  Word  of  the  Master. 
Let  us  copy  His  sublime  sacrifice  of  Self.  Let 
us  love  our  dear  ones  all  the  more  in  that  we  love 
God  first.  Let  us  offer  our  dear  ones  to  Him,  as 
into  the  hand  of  a  Faithful  Creator  and  Merciful 
Father.  Let  us  learn  to  rest  in  God,  to  desire 
His  will,  to  be  submissive  and  resigned,  for  in  thus 

1  Job  i.  21. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  DEAR  ONES  TO  GOD.    37 

offering  our  dear  ones,  with  all  of  our  human 
loves  and  relationships  to  Him,  we  best  make  for 
Christian  character  and  the  Christian  home;  we 
chasten  and  ennoble  and  dignify  those  sacred  bonds 
which  unite  us  to  God  and  to  man,  and  show  forth 
that  spirit  of  unselfish  love  and  sublime  sacrifice 
which  Jesus  showed  when  He  committed  the  Holy- 
Mother  to  Saint  John,  and  gave  up  those  He  held 
dearest. 


V. 


THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  TRIALS  TO  GOD. 

THE  FOUBTH  WOED:     "My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou 

forsaken  Me?" — St.  Matthew  xxvii.  46; 

St.  Mark  xv.  34. 

XXVI.  DENSE  DARKNESS  now  veiled  the 
scene,  and  in  cover  of  that  shrouding  blackness,  the 
Powers  of  Evil  made  their  greatest  assault  upon 
Our  Blessed  Lord.  The  Master  was  to  be  the 
Scape-Goat  or  Sin-Bearer,  as  upon  Him  was  placed 
all  the  sins  of  the  whole  wide  world,  past,  present, 
and  future,  for  Him  to  make  atonement  and  make 
it  possible  for  the  penitent  sinner  to  be  saved. 
The  great  trial  of  the  Cross  had  come.  Before 
the  Mind  of  Jesus,  that  All  Holy,  Spotless  Mind, 
came  the  awful  vision  of  sin,  with  its  crimes  and 
criminals,  its  evil  and  its  evil-doers,  the  long  pro- 
cession of  those  who  had  wrecked  their  lives  and 
ruined  their  souls  by  murder,  lust,  and  all  manner 
of  mortal  sin. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  TRIALS  TO  GOD.  39 

Even  our  own  faces  must  have  been  seen  in  that 
assemblage,  as  our  sins,  little  or  big  as  they  may 
be,  crucify  the  Christ  afresh  and  put  Him  to  an 
open  shame.  O !  the  agony  of  that  vision  to  the 
sinless  Saviour !  O  !  the  sorrow  of  Him  who  was 
shedding  His  Life  Blood  for  man,  to  know  that 
it  was  unavailing  for  some,  since  they  would  not 
be  saved !  O !  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  full  of 
unutterable  love  and  yearning,  so  powerless  over 
some  then  and  now!  Darkness,  doubt,  disap- 
pointment, all  presented  themselves  to  the  Master, 
as  with  Satan  mocking  at  His  sacrifice,  came  the 
cry  of  His  agonized  Mind,  "M y  God,  My  God,  why 
hast  Thou  forsaken  Me  T*  We  may  not  know  the 
full  meaning  of  the  cry.  Some  have  thought  that 
Our  Lord  was  saying  portions  of  the  Psalms. 
We  may  at  least  believe  this,  that  it  was  but  the 
yearning  for  the  Father's  Face,  momentarily  hid- 
den by  the  vision  of  sin,  and  at  the  same  time  was 
a  Conqueror's  cry  uttered  for  our  encouragement 
and  comfort,  telling  us  that  we  must  ever  long  for 
the  Face  of  God  and  in  all  our  trials  still  be  able 
to  say,  "My  God,  My  God."  Then  came  peace,  as 


1  St.  Matthew  xxvii.  46. 


40  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

in  the  darkness  our  salvation  was  won.  The 
Powers  of  Evil  were  beaten  back,  the  vision  of  sin 
and  sinners  faded  away,  the  Master  was  triumph- 
ant, the  final  battle  was  won. 

XXVII.  So  in  our  life,  there  will  be  the  hours 
of  darkness.  Some  doubt  will  shake  our  faith  in 
God,  some  disappointment  will  shake  our  faith  in 
man,  some  shadow  of  sorrow  and  suffering  will 
come  and  darken  all  of  the  sunshine  and  bright- 
ness of  our  spiritual  life,  and  the  Face  of  the 
Father  will  seem  to  be  withdrawn,  until  we,  too, 
cry  out,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  for- 
saken mef* 

Yet  we  are  only  being  tested  and  tried  and  de- 
veloped. On  the  rainy  day  the  sun  is  still  shin- 
ing behind  the  clouds.  In  our  hours  of  darkness, 
the  Father's  Face  is  still  smiling  upon  us.  The 
sun  is  all  the  more  beautiful  after  the  rain.  God 
is  all  the  more  loved  after  the  trial.  It  but  be- 
hooves us  to  drive  back  the  powers  of  evil,  to  bend 
before  the  storm  as  the  palm  before  the  tempest, 
to  raise  ourselves  triumphant  in  our  faith,  hope, 
and  love  when  the  clouds  have  passed  by. 


1  St.  Matthew  xxvii.  46. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  TRIALS  TO  GOD.  41 

XXVIII.  The  way  to  accomplish  this  is  to 
offer  our  trials  and  tribulations  to  God:  those 
doubts   that   He   may   change   them   into    faith, 
those   disappointments  that  He  may  transform 
them  into  patience,  those  sorrows  and  sufferings 
that  He  may  show  to  us  their  saving  grace.    In 
this   spirit  we   should   even  desire  to  be  tried, 
and  developed,  for  then  we  may  the  more  honour 
and    glorify    God.     Then    we    will    learn    both 
weak  and  strong  points,  then  we  will  come  to 
rely  upon  Divine  Grace  more  than  human  power, 
then  we  will  come  ever  to  cast  our  care  upon  Him 
Who  careth  for  us.     Would  we  wish  to  cross  the 
ocean  in   a  ship  which  had  never  been  tried? 
Would  we  like  to  lead  into  battle  troops  which 
had  never  been  trained  ?    In  our  life,  temptation 
and  trial  prove  us  and  designate  us.     They  are  in 
fact,  the  measure  of  God's  love  and  of  our  merit. 
The  stronger  the  doubt,  the  difficulty,  or  the  temp- 
tation, when  resisted  and  overcome,  the  stronger 
our  characters,  the  greater  our  merits.     For  the 
Devil  never  bothers  with  great  temptations,  those 
whom  he  may  claim  as  his  own,  at  will. 

XXIX.  Let  us  learn  then  to  offer  our  trials  to 


42  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

God,  asking  Him  that  we  may  so  bear  them  that 
they  may  be  means  of  many  a  ricn  blessing.  Then 
in  His  grace  let  us  be  patient  and  persevering  and 
prayerful,  until  in  God's  good  time,  the  shadows 
pass  away  and  a  wonderful  calm  and  peace  settle 
upon  the  soul,  as  the  Father's  Face,  which  has 
never  changed,  is  seen  smiling  in  love  upon  His 
conquering  children.  Thus  our  very  falls  will  con- 
tribute to  our  final  victory,  as  profiting  by  bitter 
experience,  we  come  to  be  continually  on  the  watch 
and  by  being  prepared,  make  the  assaults  of  the 
world  the  flesh  and  the  devil  end  in  glorious  vic- 
tory for  ourselves. 


VI. 

THE   OFFERING   OF   OUR  BODILY  ILLS   TO   GOD. 
THE  FIFTH  WORD:     "/  thirst." — St.  John  xix.  28. 

XXX.  THE  PRECEDING  CRY  of  Our  Lord  was 
the  anguish  of  His  Soul.  That  which  He  now  ut- 
ters, ffl  thirst,"  is  the  expression  of  the  pain  of  His 
Body.  When  we  think  of  all  that  Jesus  suffered 
during  those  long  hours  since  He  was  betrayed  and 
taken,  when  we  think  of  those  six  hours,  now  draw- 
ing to  a  close,  when  He  hung  upon  the  Tree,  and 
picture  His  bleeding  Wounds  and  fevered  Body 
and  parched  Lips,  we  may  gain  some  faint  idea  of 
that  unutterable  agony  of  the  Master  which  drew 
from  Him  those  words,  "I  thirst,"  sounding  out 
from  the  solemn  stillness  about  the  Cross.  Those 
words  fulfilled  the  Scriptures,1  drew  forth  from  a 
soldier  an  act  of  sympathy  as  he  offered  Jesus  wine 
upon  a  sponge,  and  they  spiritually  signify  Our 


1  St.  John  xix.  28 ;  Ps.  Ixix.  22. 


44  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

Lord's  yearning  love  and  longing  for  souls,  for 
souls  deep  in  the  depths  of  sin,  for  which  souls  He 
was  laying  down  His  life.  Perhaps  He  saw  pass- 
ing before  Him  a  vision  of  all  the  souls  ever  born 
or  to  be  born,  many  of  them  denying  Him,  cruci- 
fying Him,  scorning  salvation,  preferring  sin  to 
their  Saviour,  wicked  and  worldly,  given  over  to 
all  manner  of  evil  and  vice,  following  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  regardless  of  the  Sacrifice 
of  the  Cross,  making  no  response  to  the  call  of  the 
Crucified.  Perhaps  He  saw  our  souls,  and  all  the 
wrong  things  we  do,  so  often  willingly,  knowingly, 
and  deliberately,  those  sins  against  God  and  man. 
Well  might  Jesus  cry,  "I  thirst,"  as  He  saw  souls 
whom  He  came  to  save,  going  to  their  doom! 
But  in  seeing  this  spiritual  application  of  Our 
Lord's  words,  we  must  not  forget  their  primary 
meaning,  of  His  Agony  of  Body.  His  cry  proved 
the  perfection  of  His  Humanity,  that  He  was  true 
Man.  It  was  a  proof  of  His  Incarnation.  And 
it  is  a  picture  of  physical  suffering,  all  the  more 
intense  from  Our  Lord's  perfection,  yet  suffering 
willingly,  gladly  endured  for  us  men  and  for  our 
salvation. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  BODILY  ILLS  TO  GOD.      45 

XXXI.  (fl  thirst"     What  lessons  are  con- 
tained in  these  two  short  words!     The  thirst  we 
must  have  in  our  bodies  for  the  things  necessary  to 
their  sustenance.    The  thirst  we  must  have  in  our 
hearts  for  souls  to  win  for  God.     The  thirst  we 
must  have  in  ourselves  for  spiritual  things,  for 
prayer  and  sacrament,  for  praise  and  worship,  for 
virtues  and  graces,  for  all  that  draws  us  upwards 
and  onwards  towards  God,  for  God  Himself  as  the 
ultimate  end  of  all.     Alas !     How  seldom  has  man 
this  spiritual  thirst  which  makes  him  seek  to  know 
and  love  God  and  to  prize  above  all  else  his  relig- 
ious privileges  and  blessings  which  bridge  the  gap 
between  God  and  man,  earth  and  Heaven !     How 
seldom  we  can  say,  with  the  Psalmist,  "My  soul  is 
athirst  for  God:  yea,  even  for  the  Living  God";1 
or  realize  Our  Lord's  promise,  "Blessed  are  they 
which  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness: 
for  they  shall  /be  filled."2 

XXXII.  Yet  there  is  another  lesson,  more 
often  missed  perhaps  than  the  first,  and  that  is  our 
attitude  towards  God,  when  sooner  or  later  we  lie 
on  the  bed   of   sickness,   when   suffering  clouds 


1  Psalm  xlii.  2.  2  St.  Matthew  v.  6. 


46  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

the  mind  and  weakens  and  wastep  the  body  and 
the  poor,  parched,  fevered  tongue  cries  out  in  the 
words  of  the  Master,  f(I  thirst/'  Sickness  came 
into  the  world  as  a  result  of  the  fall.  Sickness 
comes  to  us  as  the  result  of  our  sins  or  the  sins  of 
our  forefathers,  but  nevertheless  the  ills  come  by 
Divine  Permission.  For  God,  by  these  afflictions, 
cleanses  and  purifies  us,  giving  us  fellowship  with 
Jesus  in  His  sufferings,  offering  us  a  cross  to  bear, 
developing  our  character  by  making  us  ft perfect 
through  suffering/'1  and  teaching  us  of  the  short- 
ness and  uncertainty  of  human  life  and  of  the  end- 
lessness of  the  great  Beyond. 

XXXIII.  Sickness  comes  from  God  to  sanc- 
tify us.  When,  then,  the  cup  of  pain  and  sickness 
comes  to  us,  we  should  remember  that  it  is  the 
God  of  Love2  Who  holds  it  to  our  lips.  We  should 
receive  it  with  resignation,  and  should  offer  it  to 
God,  that  He  may  bless  it  to  our  spiritual  gain, 
that  it  may  thus  be  in  a  measure  sacramental,  that 
is,  that  the  outward  bodily  ailments  may  be  the 
signs  of  an  inward  spiritual  blessing.  Thus  when 
we  are  sick,  we  should  do  three  things:  first,  we 


1  Hebrews  ii.  10.  2  I.  St.  Peter  iv.  19. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  BODILY  ILLS  TO  GOD.      47 

should  take  our  sickness  patiently  and  offer  it  to 
God  for  His  blessing ;  secondly,  we  should  look  at 
the  Cross  and  unite  our  sufferings  with  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  Master ;  thirdly,  we  should  seek  to  per- 
fect our  union  with  God,  by  prayer  and  sacra- 
ments, by  which  our  will  accepts  the  will  of  God, 
and  we  rest  in  the  recollection  of  His  mercy  and 
goodness,  knowing  that  " underneath  are  the  Ever- 
lasting Arms/'1  Or  to  be  more  explicit,  when  we 
lie  on  a  sick  bed,  we  should  not  only  offer  our  sick- 
ness to  God  and  unite  ourselves  with  Jesus,  but 
we  should  send  for  the  priest,  and,  after  seeing 
him,  should  receive  the  Holy  Communion  of  Our 
Lord's  Body  and  Blood,  which  should  be  an  in- 
estimable comfort  to  those  who  love  the  Master. 

XXXIV.  Nor  should  the  sick  one  ever  be 
without  a  crucifix  or  picture  of  the  scene  on  Cal- 
vary on  the  wall,  that  looking  on  the  representation 
of  the  Death  and  Passion  of  Our  dear  Redeemer, 
he  may  be  moved  to  larger  measure  of  faith,  love, 
and  repentance,  and  may  cheerfully  bear  his  own 
passion  and  death  if  God  so  wills  it.  The  crucifix 
is  thus  no  empty  symbol  or  ornament.  It  is  rather 


1  Deuteronomy  xxxiii.  27. 


48  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

a  medium  of  prayer,  being  an  inspiration  and  illu- 
mination to  the  mind  and  soul.  For  as  a  photo- 
graph calls  up  the  memory  of  a  dear  one,  so  the 
crucifix  presents  the  Passion  of  Jesus  and  in  a  way 
so  dramatic  and  realistic  that  it  appeals  to  the  love 
and  devotion  of  the  faithful  and  constrains  to  the 
contemplation  of  heavenly  things  as  nothing  else 
will  do. 

XXXV.  If  the  sick  one  be  very  ill  and  un- 
able to  think  much,  let  him  remember  that  he  may 
pray  by  intention,  that  is,  he  may  say  the  Lord's 
Prayer  with  special  meaning  that  it  will  be  for  that 
which  he  longs  to  say.    Or  he  may  do  nothing  more 
than  with  intense  devotion  look  on  the  carven 
Christ  of  the  crucifix  and  unite  himself  with  the 
Prayer  of  Jesus  on  the  Cross.     ISTor  should  his 
attendants  be  unmindful  of  his  spiritual  state,  for 
prayers  said  for  his  hearing  and  the  Bible  read  for 
his  noting,  will  be  of  great  interior  comfort  and 
may  also  result  in  great  physical  improvement. 

XXXVI.  How  many  people  do  not  mend  in  a 
bodily  way  simply  because  their  sin-sick  souls  need 
a  priest  and  the  comforts  of  religion,  and  on  the 
other  hand,  how  many  persons  rapidly  recover, 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  BODILY  ILLS  TO  GOD.      49 

because,  with,  souls  stayed  on  God  and  resting  in 
His  will,  their  spirits  are  at  peace  in  Jesus ! 

Let  us  now  learn  this  lesson  from  Our  Lord's 
bitter  cry,  "I  thirst"  and  when  ill,  offer  our  sick- 
ness to  God,  unite  our  sufferings  with  those  of 
Jesus,  look  at  the  Cross,  see  the  priest,  and  receive 
the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  be  perfectly  resigned 
to  whatever  happens,  be  it  life  or  death.  For  to 
those  so  prepared  the  Gate  of  Death  is  as  a  door 
that  leads  from  the  darkness  into  the  light,  that 
translates  the  faithful  to  a  place  of  rest  and  re- 
freshment. "Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the 
Lord,  for  they  do  rest  from  their  labours  and  their 
works  do  follow  them."1 


1  See  Rev.  xiv.  13. 


VII. 

THE   OFFERING  OF  OUR  WORK  TO   GOD. 
THE  SIXTH  WORD:     *'It  is  finished."— St.  John  xix.  30. 

XXXVII.  THE  END  of  the  Sacrifice  is  al- 
most reached.  The  shrouding  darkness  is  soon  to 
melt  away  before  the  shining  sun,  "for  at  evening 
time  it  shall  be  light/'1  when  Our  Lord,  having  ac- 
complished the  salvation  of  the  world,  would  hang 
dead  upon  the  Gross,  and  preach  to  the  spirits  in 
Paradise.2 

From  the  tree  in  Eden  came  the  Fall.  From 
the  Tree  on  Calvary  came  the  Redemption.  Only 
the  suffering  of  the  Son  of  God  could  atone  for 
man's  sin  and  make  the  "one  full,  perfect,  and  suf- 
ficient sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfaction/'  for  the 
whole  world.  For  it  required  a  Perfect  Offering. 
Man,  stained  witji  sin,  could  not  make  this.  There- 
fore the  Son  of  God  became  Man  for  us,  that  by 


1  Zechariah  xiv.  7.      2 1.  St.  Peter  iii.  19. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  WORK  TO  GOD.  51 

His  absolutely  sinless  life  and  death  He  could 
make  what  man  could  not  do.  From  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  Christ's  holy  life,  there  was  not  one 
fault  or  flaw.1  Otherwise  it  would  have  been  un- 
availing. Yet  though  tempted  in  all  points  like  as 
we  are,  Jesus  was  absolutely  sinless,2  absolutely 
perfect,  the  Pattern  and  Example  for  all  time. 
Now  He  was  to  lay  down  that  life  with  all  its  good 
works,  all  its  boundless  store  of  merits.  He  was  to 
offer  it  to  God.  So  from  the  Cross  there  came 
those  solemn  words  of  presentation,  as  His  life 
and  work  are  offered  to  the  Father,  "It  is  fin- 
ished/'3 

XXXVIII.  It  is  the  ideal  for  us.  It  is 
the  lesson  of  offering  our  work  to  God.  We 
may  never  be  able  to  say,  with  Jesus,  "it  is 
finished"  in  the  sense  that  our  work  is  per-, 
feet,  but  we  may  do  so  in  that  other  sense  that 
it  is  done,  that  we  have  accepted  our  responsi- 
bility and  have  done  our  duty  in  that  state  of 
life  unto  which  it  hath  pleased  God  to  call  us. 
Many  a  person  goes  on  his  way  accomplishing  little 
or  nothing.  He  has  no  object  in  life.  He  has  no 


1  St.  John  viii.  46.       2  Hebrews  iv.  15.       3  St.  John  xix.  30. 


52  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

rule  in  life.  He  simply  drifts,  fo  such  an  one 
Our  Lord's  words  come  with  strong  condemnation, 
as  He  holds  up  before  him  His  Own  Perfect  Life, 
and  says,  "It  is  finished"! 

XXXIX.  What  is  our  life?  What  is  our 
work?  What  are  our  aims  and  ambitions,  our 
ideals  and  standards?  Alas!  many  people  en- 
tirely miss  the  meaning  of  their  life  and  work. 
They  live  and  work  for  self.  They  prefer  the 
"praise  of  men  more  than  the  praise  of  God/'1 
They  either  love  their  life  and  work  because  they 
give  them  pleasure  and  bring  them  profit,  or  they 
hate  both  their  existence  and  their  labour,  because 
the  one  is  not  easy  and  the  other  is  not  paying. 
Consequently  there  are  few  fruits  to  be  seen. 

XL.  Life  and  work,  however,  should  be  re- 
garded very  differently  from  this.  Life  here  is 
given  to  enable  us  to  fit  our  souls  for  heaven.  Work 
is  given  that  we  may  glorify  God  by  the  proper  use 
of  our  talents,  opportunities,  and  privileges.  The 
bootblack  who  does  his  best  to  shine  shoes  for  the 
Glory  of  God  is  blessed  by  God.  The  millionaire 
who  piles  up  wealth  for  his  own  selfish  ambition 


1  St.  John  xii.  43. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  WORK  TO  GOD.  53 

is  rejected  of  God.  It  is  not  that  which  we  do, 
but  the  way  in  which  we  do  it  that  tells,  and  happi- 
ness and  contentment  come  and  come  only  in  doing 
all  we  do,  to  the  best  of  our  ability  as  in  God's 
sight,  for  His  Glory.  There  should  be  in  fact  a 
religious  atmosphere  about  our  very  work,  for 
God  the  Master  Builder  is  with  us,  wherever  we 
are.  When  God  brought  the  present  earth  into 
being  at  Creation  and  made  one  after  another  of 
His  wonderful  works,  He  could  say  after  each, 
"And  God  saw  that  it  was  good/'1  So  with  us, 
when  we  work,  we  should  so  aim  to  have  both  the 
nature  of  our  work  and  the  performance  of  our 
work  such  that  we  can  hear  those  words,  "And 
God  saw  that  it  ivas  good/'1  as  we  offer  that  work 
to  God  for  His  acceptance. 

5LI.  Work  evil  in  itself  and  contrary  to  the 
Christian  profession,  no  self-respecting  man  or 
woman  should  take ;  work  on  Sunday  unless  time  is 
given  for  the  proper  worship  of  God,  should  also 
be  refused.  It  matters  not  what  or  where  the  work 
is :  it  should  all  be  offered  to  God.  If  a  decided  vo- 
cation or  fitness  for  a  certain  work  be  seen,  then  it 


1  Genesis  i.  10,  etc. 


54  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

is  our  bounden  duty  to  do  all  we  can,  to  follow  that 
calling.  But  if  the  way  cannot  be  made  to  open, 
or  if  from  necessity  we  have  to  take  up  some  other 
labour,  or  if  we  seem  to  have  no  special  calling,  we 
should  do  the  work  that  is  nearest,  believing  that 
it  is  God's  will,  and  do  it  in  the  sense  of  His  Pres- 
ence with  us  as  we  work. 

XLII.  Nor  let  us  forget  that  there  must  be  a 
division  of  labour.  We  cannot  all  do  the  same 
thing.  There  must  be  masters  and  men,  there  must 
be  those  doing  the  great  things,  there  must  be  those 
doing  the  little  things,  but  all  are  equally  import- 
ant in  the  sense  that  the  parts  form  the  whole,  and 
that  any  one  part  poorly  done  or  not  done  mars  or 
detracts  from  the  whole.  This  is  a  lesson  particu- 
larly needed  to  be  noted  in  the  age  in  which  we 
live,  when  wrong  notions  detrimental  to  the  dignity 
of  labour  have  led  many  to  aspire  to  do  things  for 
which  they  are  not  fitted,  and  have  made  failures 
of  those  who  would  have  been  most  successful  in 
more  modest  walks  of  life,  and  have  caused  much 
poor  work  to  be  done. 

XLIII.  What  a  dignity  then  attaches  to  the 
most  menial  work  when  done  to  the  Glory  of  God 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  WORK  TO  GOD.  55 

and  offered  to  Him.  The  scrub-woman,  the  street- 
cleaner,  the  day  labourer,  the  mechanic,  the  mill 
hand,  the  merchant,  the  banker,  the  man  of  affairs, 
the  doctor,  the  lawyer,  the  priest,  the  woman  in 
the  home,  the  man  in  the  world,  are  all  important 
in  God's  sight  and  their  work  blessed  and  crowned 
by  God  when  done  for  His  Glory  and  offered  up 
to  Him. 

XLIV.  Let  us  learn  to  say  fflt  is  finished/'  by 
doing  our  work  cheerfully  and  lovingly,  by  doing 
it  with  method  and  system,  by  doing  it  with  atten- 
tion and  thoroughness,  by  doing  it  with  every  ef- 
fort to  make  it  our  best — for  nothing  short  of  our 
best  is  really  finished — and  doing  it  with  glad- 
ness in  our  heart  and  a  song  on  our  lips. Then  let 
us  offer  that  work  to  God,  asking  God  for  Christ's 
sake  to  wash  away  all  the  imperfections  in  the 
Blood  of  Jesus  and  to  join  all  that  is  good  to  His 
merits  and  mediation.  Let  us  offer  our  day's 
work,  day  by  day:  it  may  be  those  little  things 
about  the  house,  the  mending,  cleaning,  cooking, 
washing,  and  the  like,  or  those  studies  at  school,  or 
those  books  kept  at  the  office,  or  those  bricks  laid 
and  those  boards  sawed  as  mason  and  carpenter, 


56  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

or  that  tending  of  those  looms  at  fhe  mill,  or  those 
hours  spent  in  hard  work  in  office  and  counting 
room,  court,  hospital,  or  church,  all  those  suc- 
cesses, all  those  failures,  for  God  sees  them  all, 
God  accepts  them  all.  "Thou  God  seest  me"1 
should  be  our  first  motto  in  our  work.  "First 
give  thyself  to  God:  then  to  the  work  God  gives 
thee  to  do"  our  second  thought.  For  only  in 
working  as  in  God's  Sight  and  Presence,  for  His 
Honour  and  Glory,  do  we  have  true  joy,  inspira- 
tion, comfort,  and  guidance  in  our  work,  do  we 
feel  the  importance  and  dignity  of  even  the  little 
things,  and  are  able  to  offer  to  God  all  our  work, 
from  the  fulness  of  heart,  knowing  we  have  done 
our  best,  and  being  able  to  say :  "It  is  finished." 

1  Genesis  xvi.  13. 


VIII. 

THE  OFFERING  OF  OUR  SOULS  TO  GOD. 

THE  SEVENTH  WORD  :     "Father,  into  Thy  Hands  I  commend 
My  Spirit." — St.  Luke  xxiii.  46. 

XLV.  THE  BLACK  DARKNESS  still  shrouds  the 
Cross.  Only  the  Sacred  Body  of  the  Master  shows 
forth  from  the  shadows.  Huddled  together  the 
people  look  and  fear  and  tremble.  The  powers  of 
evil  have  done  their  worst,  but  in  crucifying  Christ 
they  have  wrought  their  own  doom,  for  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Cross  won  salvation  for  the  world,  and 
forever  beat  back  Satan  and  his  legions,  and  con- 
quered death  and  the  grave. 

Now  the  end  was  come :  and  not  the  end  those 
wicked  men  and  those  devilish  powers  had  im- 
agined. Sin  with  fear  and  hate  looked  at  the 
Cross.  Holiness  with  love  and  life  hung  on  the 
Cross.  The  suffering,  bleeding  Saviour  was  the 
mighty  Conqueror  of  the  world,  the  Sovereign 
Lord  of  Life  and  Death.  His  work  is  now  accom- 


58  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

plished:  His  life  has  been  offeree}  for  man:  His 
death  is  now  to  complete  the  act  of  Sacrifice,  as 
He,  both  Priest  and  Victim,  with  Blood  sprinkled 
upon  the  Tree,  enters  the  Holy  of  Holies,  to  make 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  He  laid 
down  His  life  of  His  Own  accord :  His  enemies  had 
crucified  Him,  but  throughout  each  act,  Our  Lord 
had  been  a  willing  Sufferer.  Now  to  give  a  final 
proof  of  His  willing  sacrifice  of  Himself,  to  show 
that  of  His  Own  power  He  gave  up  His  life,  the 
Master  utters  one  great,  tremendous  cry,1  showing 
that  He  was  the  Son  of  God,  rending  the  veil  of 
the  Temple  in  twain,2  causing  a  great  earthquake,3 
calling  the  saints  from  their  graves,4  sending  flee- 
ing homeward  the  multitudes  beating  their  breasts 
with  fear  and  horror,5  and  making  the  silent  Cen- 
turion cry  out,  "Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God."6 
Then  all  accomplished,  Jesus  bowed  His  Bleeding 
Head  upon  His  Breast  and  committed  His  Soul 
into  God's  charge:  "Father,  into  Thy  hands  I 
commend  My  Spirit/'7 


1  St.  Luke  xxiii.  46.  5  St.  Luke  xxiii.  48. 

2  St.  Luke  xxiii.  45.  6  St.  Matthew  xxvii.  54. 

3  St.  Matthew  xxvii.  51.  7  St.  Luke  xxiii.  46. 
*  St.  Matthew  xxvii.  52. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  SOULS  TO  GOD.  59 

XL VI.  Jesus  Christ  is  dead  upon  the  Cross. 
His  Body,  pierced  and  bleeding,  hangs  upon  the 
Tree,  His  Soul,  pure  and  spotless,  is  in  Paradise, 
but  as  God,  the  Lord  of  Life,  He  is  with  both.  His 
Human  Body  on  the  Cross,  and  with  His  Human 
Soul  beyond  the  veil,  One  Person,  with  Divine 
and  Human  Natures,  suffering  and  dying  on  the 
Cross  as  Man,  saving  and  redeeming  the  world  as 
God,  One  Person,  the  Only  Begotten  of  the  Father. 

The  offering  of  Himself  was  complete,  with 
the  offering  of  His  Human  Soul  at  death. 

What  a  dreadful  death !  ISTo  couch  or  covering ! 
No  words  of  love  or  sympathy !  Stripped  on  the 
Cross !  Alone !  Only  God !  Yet  what  a  perfect 
death!  May  not  we  sinning  men  and  women 
learn  of  Jesus  Christ  to  die,  seeing  in  the  spotless 
Saviour  the  great  Example  of  perfect  faith,  love, 
and  resignation,  seeing  in  the  absence  of  all  com- 
fort the  lesson  of  resting  in  God,  supported  by  Di- 
vine consolation,  seeing  in  the  offering  of  the 
Master's  Soul  to  God  the  way  for  us  to  give  our 
spirit  back  to  God  as  life  ebbs  away ! 

XL VII.  At  death  God  calls  us  to  the  life  be- 
yond the  veil.  The  bodies  sleep  but  the  life  of  the 


60  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING 

spirit  goes  on  forever.  As  the  ship  pnks  below  the 
horizon  and  is  lost  to  sight,  but  still  goes  sailing  on, 
so  the  soul  leaves  the  body  at  death,  and  passes 
from  earth  into  that  endless  eternity  beyond  the 
grave.  While  we  are  in  life  we  are  in  the  midst 
of  death.  As  St.  Francis  de  Sales  once  said,  "We 
know  not  when  death  awaits  us.  Let  us  then  learn 
to  await  death." 

The  soul  comes  from  God:  the  soul  goes  to 
God ;  as  He  gave  it  to  us,  so  we  should  give  it  back 
to  Him.  The  soul  is  a  sacred  trust,  it  belongs  to 
God,  it  was  made  for  His  Glory,  it  was  given  to 
praise  and  magnify  Him  in  the  heavenly  places ! 

XL VIII.  Alas !  how  many  souls  through  un- 
repented  sin  are  doomed  to  the  outer  darkness  of 
Hell,  shut  out  from  the  sight  of  God  and  His  Glory ! 
And  this  dreadful  doom  may  be  ours  if  we  trifle 
with  sin  or  refuse  to  drive  it  out,  or  try  to  make  a 
compromise  between  God  and  the  Devil !  Only  by 
the  continual  consecration  of  ourselves  to  God  and 
by  the  practice  of  holiness  can  we  be  safe  and  sure 
and  be  able  to  offer  our  souls  to  God  at  death,  as  re- 
deemed by  the  Blood  of  Jesus,  and  as  ready,  after 
purification  and  perfecting  in  the  Intermediate 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  SOULS  TO  GOD.  61 

State,  to  enter  into  the  joy  and  glory  of  heaven. 
Both  in  life  and  death  we  should  ever  consign  our- 
selves to  God's  keeping,  never  dismayed  or  dis- 
couraged, for  God  sees  us,  loves  us,  cares  for  us, 
watches  us,  and  will  do  all  that  is  needful  if  we 
only  rest  in  Him,  safe  in  the  Bosom  of  the  Father. 
XLIX.  If  we  fill  our  hearts  with  the  love  of 
God,  the  Devil  cannot  find  a  place.  If  we  live  the 
Christ-life,  the  life  in  union  with  God,  perfected  by 
prayer  and  sacrament,  the  things  of  this  world  will 
have  little  hold  upon  us.  If  we  have  that  mental 
and  spiritual  attitude  of  recollection,  with  knees 
on  the  ground,  eyes  on  the  Cross,  and  thoughts  in 
heaven,  the  flesh  will  have  little  power  to  lead  us 
into  sin.  God  should  be  all  in  all :  our  beginning, 
our  end,  our  aim,  our  ambition,  our  very  life  until 
His  will,  His  word,  His  way,  His  worship  are  our 
constant  aspiration  and  our  dearest  desire.  And 
to  realize  this,  as  we  have  said,  there  must  be 
the  Communion  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Our 
Blessed  Lord,  which  is  God's  food  for  the  soul,  the 
strengthening,  refreshing,  and  cleansing  of  the 
spirit,  the  very  bread  of  immortality.1  Live  with- 


*  St.  John  vi.  53,  54. 


62  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

out  Communion,  and  the  soul  is  fairly  starved ;  die 
without  Communion,  and  the  soul  is  sadly  stained, 
and — if  we  take  Our  Lord's  words  absolutely  liter- 
ally— is  lost.1  Surely,  if  we  value  our  souls,  we 
will  save  them  for  God's  Glory!  If  we  love  our 
souls,  we  will  not  starve  them  and  stain  them !  If 
we  love  our  souls,  we  will  give  them  Food,  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Altar !  If  we  love  our 
souls,  we  will  regularly  and  frequently  receive  the 
Holy  Communion.  Then  when  our  end  draws 
near,  and  we  go  down  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  let  us  go  with  souls  cleansed  from 
sin  and  strengthened  for  the  journey  by  the  last 
Sacrament  of  the  Blessed  Body  and  Blood  of  Our 
Adorable  Saviour,  Who  hath  said,  "Who  eateth 
My  Flesh  and  drinlceth  My  Blood  hath  eternal 
life  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day"2 
For  those  Holy  Mysteries  are  well  called  the 
Viaticum  or  Food  for  the  last  journey,  whereby 
with  God  with  us  we  awake  to  behold  Him  face 
to  face.  Then  and  then  only  can  we  make  the 
perfect  offering  of  our  soul  to  God,  "Father, 
into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit,"  as  the  an- 


1  St.  John  vi.  53,  54.  2  St.  John  vi.  54. 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  SOULS  TO  GOD.  63 

gels  bear  it  safely  away  to  meet  its  Lord  and  Sav- 
iour Whom  it  has  learned  to  know  and  love  in  the 
Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Altar. 

L.  "Wno,  THEN,  is  willing  to  consecrate  his 
service  this  day  unto  the  Lord"1  in  the  Life  of 
Offering  unto  Almighty  God  ?  In  the  shadow  of 
the  Cross  let  us  answer  the  question,  as  we  hear 
the  Master  speaking  His  Seven  Last  Words  of 
Love.  There  is  the  call  to  the  consecrated  life: 
"If  any  man  will  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny 
himself  and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  Me."2 

What  response  will  we  make  to  the  Crucified  ? 
Should  we  linger  in  the  valleys  when  the  great 
mountains  loom  before  us,  because  they  are  hard 
to  climb?  Should  we  prefer  self  to  Jesus,  be- 
cause to  be  with  Him  means  the  carrying  of  the 
Cross?  Let  us  remember  that  rest  comes  with 
the  Cross,  for  He  who  cannot  err  hath  said :  "M y 
yoke  is  easy  and  My  burden  is  light/'3 

Let  us  remember  that  the  heights  climbed  lead 
to  heaven,  that  the  Cross  borne  wins  the  crown, 
and  for  our  encouragement  let  us  see  in  the  saints, 


1 1.  Chronicles  xxix.  5.  8  St.  Matthew  xi.  30. 

2  St.  Matthew  xvi.  24. 


64  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

the  victory  won  in  lives  similar  to  ours,  where 
the  aim  and  aspiration  of  the  soul  was  ,God.  For 
we  do  not  carry  the  Cross  alone  or  unaided. 
Jesus,  the  Burden  Bearer,  is  with  us  and  the  grace 
of  God  assists  us.  We  need  but  to  press  onward 
patiently  and  perseveringly,  in  the  power  of  the 
Good  God,  Who  is  ever  there  to  help  by  Divine 
means. 

LI.  Nothing  worth  anything  is  done  in  a  day. 
The  Life  of  Offering  is  not  attained  at  once.  The 
foundation  stones  must  be  laid  before  the  beauti- 
ful superstructure  can  be  built.  Patience,  perse- 
verance and  prayer  are  the  means  to  the  end,  God 
being  the  Master  Builder,  we  the  workmen  di- 
rected by  His  Word,  the  Divine  Will,  the  Plan 
carried  out.  Like  a  little  child  picking  berries, 
who  walks  firmly  because  held  up  by  his  father's 
hand,  we  pluck  the  fruits  and  flowers  of  a  holy 
life,  by  prayer  and  sacraments  sustained  by  the 
hand  of  the  Father  in  heaven.  We  climb  by 
climbing,  ever  getting  nearer  and  nearer  the  full 
realization  of  the  Life  of  Offering,  by  constantly 
keeping  the  aim  before  the  mind  and  steadily 
bending  all  of  our  energies  to  attain  to  it.  As  bod- 


OFFERING  OF  OUR  SOULS  TO  GOD.  65 

ily  exercise  develops  the  muscles  and  makes  pos- 
sible feats  of  strength  once  beyond  us,  so  spiritual 
exercise  develops  the  soul  and  makes  us  able  to 
accomplish  that  which  at  the  start  was  impossible. 

LIL  "Nil  desperandum"  never  despair,  is  the 
word  of  the  Christian.  "My  grace  is  sufficient  for 
thee"  is  God's  word  of  encouragement.  If  we  cul- 
tivate the  virtues  of  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  if  we 
with  patience  and  perseverance  run  the  race  set  be- 
fore us,  if  we  seek  the  Divine  grace  in  prayer  and 
sacrament  and  cooperate  with  it,  by  using  our  every 
talent,  opportunity,  and  privilege,  bending  all  our 
energies  to  accomplish  our  aim,  the  impossible 
will  become  the  possible,  the  ideal  will  be  realized. 
Then  with  a  wonderful  thrill  of  joy  and  thanksgiv- 
ing we  will  see  ourselves  growing  more  and  more 
into  the  Likeness  of  Our  Dear  Redeemer,  until, 
poor  and  imperfect  copies  though  we  be,  we  reflect 
in  some  measure  at  least  the  Glory  of  His  sub- 
lime sacrifice  of  Self,  in  offering  ourselves,  with 
all  that  we  love  and  all  that  we  have,  to  be  used  for 
the  Honour,  Praise,  and  Glory  of  God.  So  every 
cross  will  be  a  glorious  gem  in  our  crown  in  that 
endless  future  when  penitent  sinners  as  glorious 


66  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

saints,  who  have  overcome  self  and  turned  many  to 
righteousness/  will  shine  as  stars  forever  and  ever, 
in  the  Kingdom  of  the  Father,  in  the  Glory  of 
His  Beautiful  Face.2 


1  Daniel  xii.  3.  2  Revelation  xxii.  4. 


IX. 

THE    LIGHT    IN    THE    FACE    OF    JESUS    CHRIST. 

"For  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness, 

hath  shined  in  our  hearts  to  give  the  Light  of 

the  Knowledge  of  the  Glory  of  God  in 

the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ." — 

II.  Corinthians  iv.  6. 

WHEN  the  shadow  of  the  Cross  of  Shame  and 
the  darkness  of  sin  and  death  clouded  our  life  on 
Good  Friday,  and  made  us  more  clearly  realize  the 
love  of  God  and  the  awf  ulness  of  sin,  we  were  close 
to  Our  Dear  Lord,  and  looking  at  His  sufferings 
and  listening  to  His  words  we  were  moved  to  new 
faith,  love,  and  repentance  as  we  saw  Light  in  the 
Face  of  Jesus  Christ.  On  Easter,  in  the  triumph 
of  the  Resurrection,  when  we  commemorate  the 
Son  of  God  rising  again  from  the  dead,  coming 
from  the  tomb  in  His  glorified  Human  Nature, 
again  we  see  Light  in  the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ, 
as  He  Who  is  both  true  God  and  true  Man,  in  the 
splendour  of  His  Risen  Body  reveals  to  us  the 


68  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

Glory  of  God,  in  the  victory  oyer  death  and  the 
grave  won  by  Our  Lord. 

How  wonderful  the  light  is,  both  in  the  natural 
world  and  in  the  spiritual  word!  How  it  ever 
warms,  illumines,  and  purifies,  as  the  sun  in  the 
sky,  the  light  of  the  earth,  drives  away  the  shadow 
of  darkness,  as  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  the 
Light  of  the  world,  drives  away  the  shadow  of  sin ! 

We  picture  the  creation  of  the  present  world : 
all  was  chaos,  the  earth  was  without  form  or 
beauty,  and  darkness  brooded  over  the  face  of  the 
deeps.  What  a  change  came  when  God  said,  "Let 
there  be  light/'1  and  there  was  light,  and  the  shad- 
ows passed  away  at  His  command,  and  at  last  the 
work  of  creation  being  completed,  the  world  stood 
forth  in  all  the  glory  of  the  light,  reflecting  the 
splendour  of  Almighty  God,  their  Creator. 

How  sad  and  strange  that  in  a  world  of  such 
surpassing  beauty,  when,  as  St.  Gregory  the  Great 
said,  "the  works  of  nature  were  the  footprints  of 
the  Creator,"  man,  made  in  the  Image  of  God, 
after  His  Likeness,  the  crowning  glory  of  his 
Maker,  should  have  forsaken  the  light,  and  by  the 


1  Genesis  i.  3. 


LIGHT  IN  THE  FACE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.        69 

Fall  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  have  brought  dark- 
ness, death,  and  disease  into  the  world !  The  soul 
full  of  light  became  full  of  darkness.  The  desire 
for  evil,  the  doing  of  evil  made  chaos  of  the  heart 
of  man,  robbed  his  spirit  of  the  form  and  beauty 
of  godliness  and  caused  to  spread  over  his  sin- 
stricken  soul  a  darkness  such  as  shrouded  the  earth 
before  there  was  light,  and  the  Devil  held  him  in 
durance  vile,  in  which  state  the  will,  weakened  by 
sin,  assented  to  evil  as  the  very  habit  of  life. 

O !  What  a  change,  more  glorious  and  more 
wonderful  than  at  the  Creation,  was  there,  when 
by  the  Incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  Light 
of  the  world  came  to  dwell  among  men,  and  sin- 
ners saw  Light  in  the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ,  in 
Him  who  came  down  from  Heaven,  and  without 
ceasing  to  be  God,  became  Man  for  us,  and  in  His 
Sacred  Person,  the  Second  Person  of  the  Adorable 
Trinity,  shined  into  our  hearts  to  give  the  Light 
of  the  Knowledge  of  the  Glory  of  God.  "The 
Light  shineth  in  the  darkness"  It  fflighteth  every 
man  that  cometh  into  the  world/'1  as  the  Son  of 
God  dwelt  among  us  and  by  His  very  Presence 


1  St.  John  i. 


70  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

gave  f orm,  beauty,  and  nobility  to  human  life  and 
human  character,  and  men  saw  life  and  character 
in  a  new  light:  the  Light  in  the  Face  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Look  at  the  Life  and  Death  of  Our  Blessed 
Lord !  Do  they  not  form  the  purifying  and  illum- 
inating power  of  the  world  ?  Do  they  not  give  an 
inspiration  to  every  chapter  of  earthly  life? 
Do  they  not  give  us  Light  in  the  Face  of  Jesus 
Christ?  In  the  Holy  Manger,  the  light  of  the 
Nativity  radiated  in  glory  from  the  Babe  of  Beth- 
lehem, hallowing  infancy.  In  the  Home  of  Naz- 
areth, the  light  of  the  Holy  Childhood  shone  forth 
in  that  humble  abode,  sanctifying  the  home.  In 
His  Ministry  among  men,  the  light  of  a  Perfect 
Example  revealed  precepts  put  into  practice,  en- 
nobling work.  In  the  Agony  and  Passion,  the 
light  of  patient  submission  to  the  will  of  God 
illumined  the  sufferings  of  the  Master  and  sancti- 
fied pain  and  sorrow.  In  the  Death  upon  the 
Cross  the  light  of  absolute  self-sacrifice  and  sur- 
render shone  forth,  brightening  the  entrance  from 
death  into  life.  Out  of  the  darkness  of  sin,  out 
of  the  darkness  of  sorrow,  out  of  the  darkness  of 


LIGHT  IN  THE  FACE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.        71 

suffering,  out  of  the  darkness  of  death  there  stands 
forth  in  glorious  radiance  the  Sacred  Person  of 
the  Lord,  absolutely  perfect  in  life  and  in  death, 
giving  us,  whose  eyes  are  dimmed  with  doubts,  dis- 
couragements, and  disappointment,  light  in  the 
Face  of  Jesus  Christ. 

And  on  Easter  Day,  how  this  Divine  illumina- 
tion seems  to  shine  with  an  added  lustre  and  beau- 
ty, as  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  Who  shineth  in  the 
darkness  in  the  Holy  Incarnation,  stands  forth  in 
the  more  glorious  splendour  of  the  Risen  Body  in 
the  Holy  Resurrection!  The  Tree  of  Shame  is 
now  vacant,  the  quiet  Tomb  is  now  empty,  for  the 
Lord  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  the  triumph  song 
of  the  Church  has  begun ! 

Who  can  tell  the  full  glory  of  the  Risen 
Christ !  Who  can  describe  the  joy  of  the  faithful 
throughout  the  ages  in  this  victory  over  death  and 
the  grave !  Is  it  not  by  contrast  only  that  oppo- 
sites  are  best  seen?  Does  not  Good  Friday,  the 
day  of  darkness,  reveal  in  greater  glory  Easter 
Day,  the  day  of  light?  Does  not  our  sorrow  for 
the  sufferings  of  Our  Crucified  Saviour  help  our 
joy  in  the  triumph  of  Our  Risen  King  ?  At  Crea- 


72  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

tion,  the  sun  rose  upon  a  darkened  world  and  it 
was  light  in  the  earth.  At  the  Resurrection,  the 
Sun  of  Eighteousness  rose  upon  a  darkened  life 
and  it  is  light  in  the  soul.  And  the  joy  is  not  only 
for  Jesus,  but  also  for  ourselves,  for  the  Resurrec- 
tion of  Our  Lord  is  our  very  anchor  of  hope,  the 
promise  of  our  own  glorious  future,  for  as  He  rose 
again  from  the  dead  so  shall  all  of  the  faithful 
rise,  to  awake  after  His  Likeness,  satisfied.1 

What,  then,  is  the  knowledge  of  this  Glory  of 
God  as  revealed  in  the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ? 
What  is  the  Church's  belief  as  to  the  Resurrec- 
tion ?  On  Good  Friday  we  saw  Our  Lord's  Body 
placed  within  the  tomb;  we  saw  His  Soul  in 
Paradise  preaching  to  the  "spirits  in  prison"* 
offering  salvation  to  those  who  had  gone  before, 
and  we  know  that  as  God,  Our  Lord  was  present 
both  with  His  Human  Body  and  His  Human  Soul. 
The  first  day,  Good  Friday,  passed,  and  the  Sacred 
Body  of  the  Master  still  slept  cold  and  silent  in 
the  sepulchre.  The  second  day,  Holy  Saturday, 
came,  and  there  was  no  change.  But  when  the 
third  day,  Easter  morning,  dawned,  Our  Lord's 


1  Psalm  xvii.  16.  2  St.  Peter  iii.  19. 


LIGHT  IN  THE  FACE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.        73 

Body  and  Soul  were  reunited  and  in  His  Power 
as  Almighty  God,  Jesus  Christ  rose  again  from 
the  dead,  passing  through  the  solid  rock  that  closed 
the  entrance  to  the  tomb  (superior  to  all  the  laws 
of  nature,  which  owned  Him  as  their  God  and 
Creator),  and  then  successively  appeared  to  the 
Holy  Women  and  the  Disciples  as  recorded  in  the 
Scriptures. 

May  we  picture  the  Risen  Body  of  the  Lord  ? 
We  do  not  presume  thoroughly  to  understand  it. 
But  we  may  so  inquire  as  to  its  condition  that  we 
may  grasp  such  measure  of  the  truth  as  has  been 
revealed  to  us,  and  see  the  state  of  our  own  future 
bodies.  Our  Lord's  Body  at  the  Eesurrection  was 
the  same  which  was  born  of  Mary,  was  nailed  to 
the  Cross,  and  was  placed  in  the  Tomb.  It  had  all 
of  the  marks  of  the  Sacred  Wounds  j1  it  had  all  of 
its  former  powers  and  possessions,  and  Our  Lord 
proved  its  reality  by  sight,2  by  touch,8  and  by  tak- 
ing food.4  It  was  no  new  Body  but  that  which  He 
had  before,  in  its  risen  state  exactly  the  same  in 
substance  but  different  in  condition,  for  Our  Lord's 


1  St.  John  xx.  25,  29.   8  St.  John  xx.  27,  St.  Luke  xxiv.  39. 

2  St.  Luke  xxiv.  31.    *  St.  Luke  xxiv.  43. 


74  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

Body  was  henceforth  possessed  j  of  subtilty,  agil- 
ity, impassibility,  and  glory,  that  is,  it  could  pass 
through  any  substance,  it  could  be  anywheres  at 
will,  it  could  no  longer  suffer,  and  it  was  full  of 
light  and  beauty. 

Such  was  Our  Lord's  Resurrection  Body,  one 
and  identical  with  that  He  assumed  at  the  Incar- 
nation, but  now  gifted  with  the  new  powers  apper- 
taining to  the  risen  state.  Hence  the  joy,  the 
triumph,  the  exaltation  of  those  who  saw  the 
Sacred  Body  of  Jesus,  risen  and  glorified,  but  the 
same  Blessed  Form  which  rested  in  the  Manger, 
was  nursed  by  Mary,  was  worshipped  by  Wise 
Men,  and  was  loved  and  adored  by  those  who  fol- 
lowed Him  in  His  Sacred  Ministry!  And  that 
joy  is  ours,  as  we  picture  the  Sacred  Body  with  its 
Precious  Wounds,  the  same  which  was  born,  died, 
and  rose  again  in  Christ's  Own  Power  as  Almighty 
God,  now  crowned  with  Glory  in  Heaven. 

Do  we  feel  our  minds  and  hearts  and  souls 
aglow  with  faith,  love,  and  devotion,  or  do  we  long 
for  some  further  witness  of  the  truth  of  the  Resur- 
rection ?  If  the  latter  be  the  case,  we  point  to  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  for  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Altar  is 


LIGHT  IN  THE  FACE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.        75 

the  continual  evidence  and  proof  of  the  Eisen 
Lord.  There  we  know  Jesus  in  "the  breaking  of 
Bread."1  There  we  feel  the  power  of  His  Resur- 
rection. For  the  Blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Altar 
is  not  only  the  continual  memorial  of  His  Sacrifice 
and  Death  on  the  Cross.  It  is  also  the  perpetual 
gift  of  the  Eisen  Saviour.  For  the  elements  of 
Bread  and  Wine  but  veil  the  Body  and  Blood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  hiding  from  us  the  Glory  of  the 
Eisen  Lord,  which  is  beyond  human  sight  to  be- 
hold. 

There  is  a  beautiful  story2  told  of  a  man  who 
said  to  a  Bishop  who  was  trying  to  convert  him 
to  belief  in  Jesus  and  the  Eesurrection :  "If  I 
could  only  see  Our  Lord,  I  would  believe  in  that 
Sacred  Presence,  and  in  this  evidence  of  the  Eisen 
Christ.  Show  me  the  Lord  and  let  me  look  upon 
Him."  "My  child,"  said  the  Bishop,  "you  could 
not  behold  God,  for  He  is  too  beautiful  and  glori- 
ous for  man,  stained  with  sin,  of  the  earth  earthy, 
to  look  upon  and  live.  I  will,  however,  show  you 


1  St.  Luke  xxiv.  30-35. 

2  This  with   several   other   thoughts   was   suggested   by   a 
Meditation  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  G.  Mortimer. 


76  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

His  Ambassador,  and  from  his  glory  you  can  think 
of  the  greater  Glory  of  God."  Leading  the  man 
from  the  church  into  the  light  of  the  noon  day,  the 
Bishop  pointed  to  the  sun  shining  in  his  splendour, 
and  said:  "See  the  glory  of  the  ambassador  of 
God."  The  man  raised  his  eyes  and  immediately 
turned  them  away,  as  the  light  blinded  him,  and 
said:  "I  cannot  stand  the  sight."  "My  child," 
said  the  Bishop,  with  a  smile,  "if  you  cannot  look 
upon  the  glory  of  the  ambassador,  how  could  you 
look  upon  the  greater  Glory  of  God  ?"  So  with  us, 
we  must  not  hope  here  on  earth  to  see  Jesus  in  re- 
vealed Glory,  but  with  the  eyes  of  faith,  love,  and 
devotion  we  may  know  Him  in  the  Sacrament  and 
learn  there  of  the  Risen  Lord  as  we  see  Light  in 
the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  Resurrection  is  the 
doctrine  of  life.  The  Communion  is  the  Sacra- 
ment of  life.  And  He  Who  comes  is  the  Lord  of 
life,  to  impart  to  us  Divine  Life  and  be  the  prom- 
ise and  pledge  to  us  of  our  unending  future,  hid 
with  Christ  in  God. 

Nor  let  us  forget  that  which  light  does:  it 
reveals  form  and  colour,  it  purifies  and  warms.  On 
a  dark  night  we  cannot  see  the  delicate  formation 


LIGHT  IN  THE  FACE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST.        77 

and  exquisite  colouring  of  the  flowers,  but  when 
the  light  shines  their  loveliness  is  revealed.  So  in 
a  darkened  soul  there  cannot  be  seen  the  form  of 
godliness  or  the  colour  of  character,  but  when  the 
Light  of  the  world  shines,  there  the  beauty  is  seen. 

Let  us  first  seek  the  Light  in  the  Face  of  Jesus 
Christ,  that  His  Glory  may  be  reflected  in  us  and 
that  we  may  see  to  think  and  speak  and  act  aright 
in  that  Divine  Illumination.  And  then  let  us 
seek  that  Light  in  the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ,  that 
we  may  not  only  be  illumined,  but  may  also  be 
warmed,  that  we  may  be  full  to  overflowing  with 
the  love  of  God.  For  with  ourselves  empty  of  sin 
and  worldliness  by  Lenten  penitence,  we  must  be 
filled  with  love  and  holiness  in  the  risen  life,  else 
the  Devil  will  return  to  the  house  that  was  swept, 
with  seven  spirits  worse  than  himself,  and  the  last 
state  of  that  soul  will  be  worse  than  the  first. 

But  seeking  Light  in  the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ, 
illumined  and  warmed  by  our  Risen  Lord,  Lent, 
Holy  Week,  and  Easter  will  be  real  steps  in  the 
ladder  that  leads  to  God,  when  by  Love  of  God, 
Devotion  to  Jesus,  and  attendance  upon  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  we  will  live  the 


78  THE  LIFE  OF  OFFERING. 

risen  life,  not  only  talking  about  Jesus,  or  think- 
ing about  Jesus,  but  also,  and  above  all,  receiving 
Jesus  and  living  Jesus. 

The  Psalmist  says :  "Thy  Face,  Lord,  will  I 
seek"  Let  us  in  our  life  of  offering  ever  seek 
the  Lord's  Face,  "looking  unto  Jesus  the  Author 
and  Finisher  of  our  faith:  who  for  the  joy  that 
was  set  before  Him  endured  the  Cross,  despising 
the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Throne  of  God/'1  Then  the  Light  will  shine  into 
our  hearts,  to  give  the  Light  of  the  Knowledge  of 
the  Glory  of  God  in  the  Face  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
beautiful  Face  of  Our  Risen  Lord. 

In  His  Name,  then,  may  we  ask  and  pray  that 
"The  Lord  bless  us  and  keep  us.  The  Lord  make 
His  Face  to  shine  upon  us  and  be  gracious  unto 
us.  The  Lord  lift  up  the  Light  of  His  Counte- 
nance upon  us  and  give  us  peace,  both  now  and 
evermore.  Amen."2 


1  Hebrews  xii.  5.        2  See  Numbers  vi.  24-26,  and  P.  B. 


